It has been taken for 50 years or more since Seon(Zen in Jap./ Ch’an in China/Sitting Meditation in the US) had been introduced as a technique of practice in American society. Many Zen masters came to the States from South-eastern areas; Korea, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri-Lanka, Vietnam, and then they made up a new linage of American Zen, since Suzuki Shunryu(1904~1971) had built San Francisco Zen Center(SFZC) in 1958, in which a hall for practicing and a farm for self-sufficiency are completed.

Today, it is due to them that there are the various methods of Zen with many Zen-Centers and web-sites on internet for meditation practice in the States. If we surf on internet for a moment, immediately, we’d find out hundreds of web-sites related with Zen. I heard, that there are about 30 to 50 thousand of Zen Centers in the States, by a Zen-practitioner whom I met, while I was staying in the States in 2004.

Among them, first SFZC is organizing 9 Zen Centers around San Francisco, 10 in California area and 14 in the other areas. And Tibetan Shambhalla Center is organizing about 1,500 branches all around the States, IMS(Insight Meditation Society) is organizing about 5 hundred or more, and there are lots of Zen-Centers and practitioners. We can say, the number is not so considerable in the big country, but it is raised up so rapidly for a short period.

I classified the groups in the States into 4 methods of practice; Vajrayana Practice by Tibetan gurus, Vippassana Practice by South-eastern practitioners, Mook-jo Seon(Silent Illumination without kong-an/kung-an in China) by Japanese practitioners and Gan-hua Seon(Meditation with kong-an or hua-t’ou) by Korean, Japanese and Chinese practitioners. By the methods, Vajrayana is surpassed others, Vipassana is the next, and then Mook-jo, and the last is Gan-hua.

Hereby, specifically I’ll look into the Gan-hua Seon method in American society. In the lineage of Gan-hua Seon, there are separated to many families from their own Zen Masters, but I’ll study a few big families among them and also study the field related with 3 countries; Korea, China, Japan. I don’t want to review the great Zen Masters’ biographies, either. So I’d like to mention their activities inside of the States.

Ⅱ. Gan-hwa Seon of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

1. Life of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

Joshu Sasaki Roshi(1907~ ) arrived in L.A. on July, 1962, because his teacher asked him to go to America to teach Zen Buddhism and at that time, Dr. Robert Harmon and Dr. Gladys Weisbart had been independently trying to bring a Rinzai Zen monk to L.A. They sponsored Master Joshu Roshi to come to the US.

After arriving there, the Master Rhoshi began to teach Zen(Seon) for a few Zen students in a small house lent by Dr. Harmon. Before long, his teaching were attracting so many Zen students and the more lay-people gathered to learn his Zen teaching. At last, the Cimarron Zen Center, since renamed Rinzai-ji Zen Center as the first Zen Center, was opened in L.A.1)

Three year later, Rinjai-ji’s main training center, Mt. Baldy Zen center, was opened. This Center has gained a reputation in international Zen circles for its rigorous practice for 19 hours a day. Most of Rinjai-ji’s monks and nuns have received some or all of intensive training there.

And Michelle Martin who were practicing at Mt. Baldy Zen center, asked to practice in New Mexico area, and then Master, Joshu S, Roshi opened Jamez Bodhi Mandala, now Bodhi Mandala Zen Center in 1974. It became Master J. S, Roshi’s second training Center, offering daily Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation) and communal work practice. In this Center, all practitioners were growing fresh greens and fruits together. It means Zen practice is not different from farming everyday life.

For 5 years, Master J. S, Roshi had never tired, offering Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation), investigating kong-an, having private Dharma meeting in a very small house. He had always served tea, cooked for himself, whenever he met with anyone who came to practice. Specially, to commemorate his fifth birthday in 1967, he began to practice Seven-Day Intensive Retreat(Dai-Sesshin) at first, which has developed to another tradition for practice under the Master J. S, Roshi’s teaching. During the Intensive Retreat, practitioners usually do Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation). Now there are 21 branches in the US under his teaching.

It is notable that the Master J. S, Roshi has held the Buddhist Sutra Seminar every summer at Mt. Baldy Zen Center since 1977. Over 16 years, many Buddhist scholars have taken part in the seminar from other countries. Naturally, Rinjai Zen under Master J. S, Roshi’s teachings was more prevalent.

He has taught his Zen students with old patriarchs’ Dharma Talks and interviewed them in the face of him with private until now, though he is walking 98th year. It is interesting that he was familiar with Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn friendly. And he was very sad, when the Master, Seung Sahn passed away in 2004.

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

Even though Master J. S, Roshi has taught Gan-hwa Seon with kong-ans under Rinzai-ji, I wonder how he has checked the kong-ans for his Zen students. As for me, it was difficult to get the related data more. However, it’s obvious that he teaches Zen(Sitting Meditation) with hard, using the traditional method of ‘investigating kong-an’ and his own modern style. I confirmed to the Zen Center of Master J. S, Roshi a few times, that Master J. S, Roshi gives Hua-t’ou to the Zen students who is needed to test and checks the answers in the face of him. But usually beginners have learned the ‘counting breathing’ first and then, ‘investigating Hua-t’ou’ one after another.

Until now they have kept on practicing ‘7-Day Intensive Retreat’ one or two times a month, and Master J. S, Roshi has had private interview directly 4 times everyday during the period. At that time, usually he gives big questions(Hua-t’ou) as follow; “Who am I?”, “What am I?”, “What was my original face before I was born?”, “What is it?”.

However, we couldn’t confirm any more because they don’t want show their private teachings. They wants to come and ask for their methods of practice the Zen Center, if somebody would have any question. Though Master J. S, Roshi is a Japanese, he has chosen only Gan-hua(Investigating Hua-t’ou), not Mook-jo(Silent Illumination) as the methods of practice.

And we know he also uses the Buddhist daily-service or communal working and so forth, by the methods of practice, on his web-sites. During the ‘Intensive Retreat’, practitioners do Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation), must keep silence, and finally can be free out of all delusion. By doing this, we could attain the self-nature and get wisdom to help all sentient-beings everyday life.2)

Consequently, Master J. S, Roshi emphasizes that you attain your true nature through the practice with kong-ans, and apply the wisdom into your real life. For the purport, he teaches Zazen(Ch’am Seon with Hua-t’ou), Intensive Retreat(Dai Sesshin), checks the kong-ans(private interview) directly, and ‘counting breathing’ for the beginners. And on farming greens and fruits, he leads the practitioners to apply daily life with Zen.

Ⅲ. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Sheng-yen

1. Life of Zen Master, Sheng-yen

Zen Master, Sheng-yen(聖嚴, 1931~ ) was born in a small village near Shanghai in 1931. Later on his Japanese teacher, Bantetsugu Roshi who met in his studying in Japan, asked him to teach Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Buddhism in the US. But he couldn’t speak English, so hesitated to leave. However, his teacher encouraged to him, ‘Zen doesn’t rely on words. Why worry about words?’

When he had traveled to the State in 1977, where he had served as the abbot of a temple in New York for a while. And he opened a Ch’an(Seon/Meditation) Center in Queens, New York, to propagate Chinese Ch’an(Zen) in there. In 1978 he became a professor at Chinese Culture Univ. in Taipei. In 1980 he found a Ch’an(Seon/Zen) Center and Chung-Hwa Buddhist Cultural Institute in New York. In 1989 founded the International Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain and reopened the Center in Queens to New York Branch of ICEFDDM. Nowadays there are 24 branches of ICEFDDM in New York. In the Center, there are organizing many programmes as follow; ‘One-Day Ch’an Retreat’, ‘One-Day Recitation Retreat’, ‘Three-Day Recitation Retreat’, ‘Seven-Day Intensive Hua-t’ou Retreat’, ‘Ten-Day Intensive Silent Illumination Retreat’, ‘Family Zen Camp’ and so forth. Specially they have Dharma meeting for questions and answers every programme.

Finally, Master Sheng-yen had affected to open the Buddhist subject in almost 40 universities in the US. Currently 3,000 or more Zen students follow him in the States and about 300,000 are learning under his teaching in Taiwan. The Master has published more than 90 books, available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French and other languages.

It is notable that the Master received by two major lineages of Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Buddhism; Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School and Cao-Dong(Soto) School, and he became the Dharma heir in these two traditions. At age 28, sojourning at various monasteries, he had the deepest spiritual experience of his life. The experiences were recognized by the masters later. In 1975 he formally received transmission from Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Master Dong-Chu(東初, 1908-1977) of Cao-Dong(Soto) School and in 1978, from Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Master Ling Yuan(靈源, 1902-1988) of the Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School.3)

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Sheng-yen

The Master emphasizes not only Gan-hua Seon(Ch’an/Zen), but also teaches sutras, mantra practice, and all the methods for practice. In his Dharma talking, there are basically included the Buddha’s teachings, theory of cause and effect, rebirth(samsara), emptiness and so forth. He also applies ‘Gan-hua Seon(investigating kung-an)’ of Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School, ‘Mook-jo Seon(silent illumination without kung-an)’ of Cao-Dong(Soto) School and ‘Ji-kwan(止觀/ Great Shamatha)’ of T’ien-t’ai School for practice. Regardless of the methods, he uses all the types for practice like; ‘counting breaths’, ‘reading sutras’, ‘invoking mantra’, ‘reciting buddha’s names’, ‘walking meditation’, ‘investigating Hua-t’ou’, ‘silent illumination’ and others.

‘Ch’an encompasses four key concepts: faith, understanding, practice, and realization. Faith belongs to the realm of religion; understanding is philosophical; practice is belief put into action; and realization is enlightenment. Without faith, we cannot understand; without understanding, we cannot practice; and without practice, we cannot realize enlightenment. Together, these four concepts create the doorway we enter to attain wisdom.”4) It means that the Master thought all the methods of practice are related with each other.

In practicing meditation, Master Sheng-yen explained very simply. For beginners sitting postures on the cushion and the way of counting breaths is taught first. It is important that body and mind be relaxed. If one is physically or mentally tense, trying to meditate can be counter-productive. Sometimes certain feelings or phenomena arise while meditating. If you are relaxed, whatever symptoms arise are usually good. It can be pain, soreness, itchiness, warmth or coolness, these can all be beneficial. But in the context of tenseness, these same symptoms may indicate obstacles.

For example, despite being relaxed when meditating, you may sense pain in some parts of the body. Frequently, this may mean that tensions you were not aware of are benefiting from the circulation of blood and energy induced by meditation. A problem originally existing may be alleviated. On the other hand, if you are very tense while meditating and feel pain, the reason may be that the tension is causing the pain. So the same symptom of pain can indicate two different causes: an original problem getting better, or a new problem being created.5)

The methods of Ch’an(Zen) that the Master, Sheng-yen has taught in the States are divided into three stages. The first stage is to balance the development of body and mind in order to attain mental and physical health. The second is free from the sense of the small “I”. The third is free from the large “I” to no “I”.

The method of the first stage is very simple. Mainly it requires you to relax all the muscles and nerves of your entire body, and concentrate your attention on the method you have just learned. With regard to the body, we stress the demonstration and correction of the postures of walking, standing, sitting and reclining. Because the tension of your muscles and nerves affects the activity of the brain, the key is therefore to reduce the burden on your brain.

In the second stage you begin to enter the stage of meditation. When you practice the method of cultivation taught by your teacher, you will enlarge the sphere of the outlook of the small “I” until it coincides with time and space. The small “I” merges into the entire universe, forming a unity. When you look inward, the depth is limitless; when you look outward, the breadth is limitless. Since you have joined and become one with universe, the world of your own body and mind no longer exists. What exists is the universe, which is infinite in depth and breadth. You yourself are not only a part of the universe, but also the totality of it.

In the third stage you realizes that the concept of the “I” does not exist. But you have only abandoned the small “I” and have not negated the concept of basic substance or the existence of God; you may call it Truth, the one and only God, the Almighty, the Unchanging Principle, or even the Buddha of Buddhism. If you think that it is real, then you are still in the realm of the big “I” and have not left the sphere of philosophy and religion.

I must emphasize that the content of Ch’an(Zen) does not appear until the third stage. Chan is unimaginable. It is neither a concept nor a feeling. It is impossible to describe it in any terms abstract or concrete.6)

What is the Master’s methods for Ch’an(Zen) practice? He showed two styles for getting enlightenment; Gan-hwa Seon(Ch’an/Zen) with hua-t’ou of Lin-Ji(Linjai) School and Mook-jo Seon(Silent Illumination without hua-t’ou) of Cao Dong(Soto) School. Both of them enables us to be relaxed physically or mentally, and concentrate on mindfulness. The purpose of practicing Ch’an is to “Illuminate the mind and see into one’s true nature.” This investigation is also called ” Clearly realizing one’s self-mind and completely perceiving one’s original nature.”

There are many hua-t’ou as such; “Who is dragging this corpse around?” “All dharmas return to one, where does this one return to?” “Before you were born what was your original face?’ and “Who is reciting Buddha’s name?” is common.

In fact, all hua-t’ou are the same. There is nothing uncommon, strange, or special about them. If you wanted to, you could say: “Who is reciting the sutras?” “Who is reciting the mantras? “Who is prostrating to the Buddha? ” Who is eating?” “Who is wearing these clothes?” “Who’s walking?” “Who’s sleeping?” They’re all the same.

The Master Sheng-yen said, the answer to the question “who” is derived from one’s Mind. Mind is the origin of all words. Thoughts come out of Mind ; Mind is the origin of all thoughts. Innumerable dharmas generate from the Mind ; Mind is the origin of all dharmas. In fact, hua-t’ou is a thought. Before a thought arises, there is the origin of words. Hence, looking into a hua-t’ou is contemplating Mind. There was Mind before your parents gave birth to you, so looking into your original face before you were born is contemplating Mind. 7)

Hence, hua-t’ou’s involving the word “who” are wonderful methods for practicing Ch’an. You have to investigate the great doubt, whenever you walking, standing, sitting and reclining. A necessary element of Hua-t’ou practice is the presence of a sense of doubt. It doesn’t mean thinking or considering of an idea repeatedly. By the Great doubt, it means a burning, uninterrupted persistence to get the root of a question which is unanswerable. That is the core of Gan-hua Seon practice.

Ⅳ. Gan-hua Seon of Zen master, Seung Sahn, Haeng-won

1. His motivation and development for propagating

Zen Master, Seung Sahn, Haeng-won(1927-2004) arrived at the States in April 1972, when he was 42. In there he saw the sight, that Japanese people were practicing Ch’am Seon(zazen/sitting meditation) at a Zen Center in L.A. He was shocked and thought, ‘Why don’t we, Korean monks, teach the Seon(Zen) like that?’ At the next moment, he determined firmly to propagate Korean Gan-hua Seon(Kanna Zen) in the States.8)

However, the Master couldn’t speak English. So, he called Jeong-sun, Kim who was a professor for the Uni. of Rhode Island State, and began to propagate his Zen talks for his Zen students in his house with him.

Before long time, the more people came to listen to his Zen talks at his small house. So, the Master lent a small apartment in Providence and began to transmit his Dharma Talk in there, and then around 50 to 90 Zen students gathered to listen per week. Finally, October 10th of the year, Providence Zen Center was opened with great.

As the Dharma meeting at Providence had developed, so many lay-people came to become one of his Zen disciples from all the areas. Consequently, he opened Cambridge Zen Center in Massachusetts in 1974, New Haven Zen Center in Connecticut in 1975, and Dharma Zen Center in L.A. in 1976, one after another.

From 1976, Seung-Sahn Zen Master has affected on lay-people very tremendously. For his teaching style, he has taught Zen students directly in the face of him, and corresponded with them frequently. Specifically, Stephen Mitchell who was called Ven. Moo-Gak as his buddhist name, published “Dropping Ashes on the Buddha in 1976”, which is the collections of the Master’s Dharma Talks, questions & answers with his students, stories for the old Zen masters or patriarchs, and the letters corresponded with his American Zen students and so forth. In a twinkle, the book was recorded as a best-seller on the list, and then many people who read it wanted to become his disciples eagerly.

Until now, in the US, there are opened 29 Zen Centers, and so many people are practicing Korean Seon(Zen/Meditation) under his teaching in there.

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen Master, Haeng-won, Seung Sahn

The core of his teaching is ‘see your true nature!’ and practice to attain the ‘true nature’, as it is just substantial world for us.

The Master said, “The most important thing that characterized their practice is that they simply looked inside, very deeply inside, to find their true nature. This is how the Buddha’s first students attained his teaching, preserved it, and passed it down to us.”9)There are layed emphasis on the ‘attain true-nature’ through his all teachings. The Master pointed that the true nature is already realized as it is.

“Zen teaching is very clear and simple. It points directly at our self-nature so that we can wake up and help this world. When you see, when you hear, when you smell, when you taste, when you touch, when you think-everything, just like this, is the truth. Everything is Buddha-nature. Everything is your true nature.”10) “Zen Buddhism means going from the world of ignorance and delusion and attaining the perception that everything is truth, just as it is. This world is already complete, and never moving. If you want to attain that point, first you must let go of your opinions, your condition, and your situation. You can see clearly, hear clearly, smell clearly, taste clearly, touch clearly and think clearly. The name for that is truth.”11)

Everything is already truth, and true Dharma. Zen Master, Seung-Shan admits all the styles of Buddhist practice to attain the true nature. He didn’t insist on any special word, any meaning or any form to get enlightenment.

“In Buddhist practice we can say that there are four main techniques for learning Buddha’s teaching: reading sutras, invoking the name of the Buddha, mantra practice, and meditation. Even though meditation is known to be the most direct way of realizing the Buddha’s teaching, each of these can help you very much. But if you become attached to sutras, or to invoking the Buddha’s name, or to mantras, or even to certain aspects of formal sitting meditation, then any one of these techniques will hinder you and drag you off the path. So the important thing to remember is not to become attached to anything, but rather to use each practice or technique correctly to find your true nature.”12)

Though our goal is to attain true nature ultimately, every technique will be helpful for us as the above; reading sutra, invoking the name of the Buddha, mantra practice, and meditation. “No matter what the tradition, the point of any meditation practice is to help you realize your own original nature so that you can help all sentient beings get out of suffering. Meditation(Zen) is not about making something special. It is not about having some peaceful experience of stillness and bliss.”13) The most important thing is finding your true nature, not the technique, the Master means that.

But the Master insists on the practicing whatever you’ve got enlightened in your everyday life. Of course, even though attaining true nature means that we have nothing to attain because everything is already complete, through the practicing to attain, we could keep a not-moving mind in any situation or condition and control the mind clear from moment to moment and control all the functions correctly to help all sentient beings. Meditation doesn’t mean only sitting in a straight posture, but keep your mind clearly all the time. “So moment-to-moment do-it mind is very important. Just-now mind. It has no subject and no object.”14)

Hereby, Zen Master, Seung-Shan specially teaches Gan-hua Seon as a technique for practicing. In his teaching there are two types of kong-ans(hua-t’ou/ big question); one is for looking inside, and the other is for testing the hua-t’ou(big questions) as follow; ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I?’, ‘Only don’t know!’ and so forth. “There are many, many teaching words in this book. There are Hynayana word, Mahayana words, and Zen word. There are Buddhist and Christian words………..too many words! But all of these words are not necessary. Words and speech are only thinking, and thinking makes suffering. You must throw them all in the garbage! The reason for this is that our true nature is not dependent on understanding. This is why I only teach “don’t know.”…….”Don’t know” is not Buddhist or Christian or Zen or anything…………….I only teach ‘don’t know'”15) Master said, ‘never forget these big questions, ‘Only don’t know!’, ‘What am I?’ and so forth.

“In the Kwan Um School of Zen…………., the point of kong-an practice is to show you how to connect your don’t know mind with everyday life. How does your meditation on the cushion find its correct function, from moment to moment, to help other people? Nowadays this world is moving very quickly, and there are always new situations………………..If you only hold on to ‘Mu(無, nothing)’, attach to old poetic commentaries, and make some special experience out of Zen practice, you will lose your way. When you step out onto the street keeping ‘Muuuuuuuu’, maybe you will be hit by a car because you are only holding One Mind. However, our style of kong-ans means using kong-ans as practice to instantly perceive your correct situation, your correct relationship to that situation, and your correct function in that situation.”16)

Not holding One Mind, but perceiving your correct situation in your everyday life using the kong-ans. His teaching means that practice to attain your true nature using kong-an, and get wisdom in everyday life. On these days, it is important to apply the kong-ans in our everyday living.

These kong-ans were conventional methods for the Zen masters to review if their students got the right view through practicing in the past.

“When a Zen student practices hard and claims to have attained some insight into his or her true nature, how can this be proven or shown? This is the meaning of kong-ans and kong-an practice.”17)

“If some monk thought he got enlightenment, a master could test him by presenting him with the story or teaching of another monk’s enlightenment experience. Any monk who truly had some sort of realization would hear the kong-an and instantly understand its true meaning. “18)

There are 10 major kong-ans available to Zen students. ①Does a dog have Buddha-nature? Joju answered, (Joju’s Dog /趙州無字) ②Joju’s “Wash your Bowls.”(趙州洗鉢) ③Seong Am Calls “Master.”(巖喚主人) ④Bodhidharma has No Beard. ⑤Hyang Eom’s “Up a Tree.”(香嚴上樹) ⑥Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. ⑦Ko Bong’s Three Gates(高峰三關). ⑧Dok Sahn Carrying His Bowls. ⑨Nam Cheon Kills a Cat(南泉斬猫). ⑩The Mouse Eats Cat food., and “Three Men Walking.” etc. “If you finish the Ten Gates(10 major kong-ans), you get this as special home-work. And if you pass this, the Zen master checks your center and you can get inka19)

As the above, Seung Shan Zen Master’s Gan-hua Seon is composed of practice and checking with his kong-ans,”Only don’t know!” and so forth. This style is a little different from traditional practice in Gan-hua Seon of Korea. Traditionally, kong-ans(hwa-t’ou) are used to get enlightenment with practice. However, Zen Master, Seung Shan is using them to quest and answer for checking. He applies them in everyday life as conventional methods to get wisdom and to realize right view from moment to moment.

Ⅴ. Conclusion

All the 3 Zen Masters do not insist on Gan-hua Seon only. They are using all the methods for practice such as; Mook-jo Seon practice, reading sutra, invoking mantra, counting breaths and so forth. If some monk said that I solved one Hua-t’ou, the Masters never admitted him to be a realized man. Because they are all stand for gradual enlightenment, rather than sudden enlightenment.

Moreover, the Zen Masters give the big questions and check the answers to their Zen students in the face of them. By using kong-ans, the Masters lead their students to look back on their self-nature, and apply the attainments to everyday life.

Hereby, I’d like to summary the patterns of Gan-hua Seon practice in the US.

First, all the Masters have practiced strongly under their own Buddhist views.

Second, they are emphasizing on the ultimate attainment of practice, not their own methods for practice. Therefore, they are using all kinds of methods to teach their Zen students such as; counting breaths, invoking mantra, reciting buddha’s names, reading sutras, prayer chanting and so forth.

Third, they are stand for gradual enlightenment, not sudden enlightenment for practice. There are 3 stages to get enlightenment. Masters gives kong-ans to the practitioners every stage and checks the answers.

Fourth, the Masters give hua-t’ou to their Zen students for contemplating original self-nature. Not only traditional kong-ans, but also common questions like ‘Who am I?’ are given to them.

Fifth, the Masters give questions to the Zen students and check the answers continuously. Specifically, this is the main method that the Zen Masters teach their students.

Sixth, the Masters teach to the practitioners Zen practice, and also to apply what they have learned or attained to their own everyday lives.

The Zen Masters have found many Zen Centers in the US for themselves to teach their students, and they have already been able to speak English. Furthermore, now they are transmitting Dharma to the native Americans in active.

For long time, the Zen Masters have considered how to teach the American lay-people and finally they got what the Western Zen practitioners want. Even though their methods for teaching are a little different from traditional styles, those are by far the best for the American practitioners, I think.

However, I regret that I haven’t studied how the Zen Masters could overcome the cultural or social gaps between the countries, and teach the foreign people in the face of them directly. And I wonder how their teachings affected to the U.S. society or inspired to every Zen student spiritually. I haven’t looked for any social or environmental effects derived from the Masters’ Zen teachings yet.

If I had an opportunity, I would review all the above and the prospects of Zen Buddhism for the future in the States.

Written by Kwon Kee-jongProfessorDept. of Buddhist StudiesDongguk University

A. Preface

Master Baegun Gyeonghan (1298-1374) was a Seon master who lived in the late Goryeo Period, and a contemporary of masters Taego Po-u (1301-1382) and Naong Hyegeun (1320-1376). These three great masters had a deep and close relationship with one an­other and they also shared the common experience of having gone to Yuan and learned Seon under masters Shiwu Qinggong and Pingshan Chulin, and then introduced the Linji Order (Kor. Imje) to Silla. In addition, they all tried to reform the declining Seon Dharma of the time and to correct the many faults of the samgha thus setting it on the right track again.

But though they studied Linji Seon and lived at the same time and in the same society, the characteristics of their Seon traditions differ. In order to understand this, we need to examine the study of Master Baegun and the characteristics of his Seon Dharma. One of the best ways of doing this is to look at his sayings.

B. The Philosophical Background

The background of the later Goryeo Period, especially the reign of King Kongmin (r. 1352-1374), can be considered from two viewpoints. The first is the social aspect which shows that this was a time of strong political agitation, and the second is from the philosophical point of view, Buddhism was on the decline includ­ing the Seon Order. Of the two, the second viewpoint is of special importance to us because through it we can understand the philo­sophical background of the transmission of Linji Seon.

Goryeo society, due to the influence of ceremonial Buddhism, often held various Buddhist meetings such as the taking of Eight Precepts (Kor. p’algwan-hoe) and Giving Life (Kor. panseung). Most activities were for the good fortune of the participants and the social effect of this reached a maximum during the reign of King Kongmin. In the fourth year of his reign, Master Seongeun who belonged to the royal temple inside the palace (Kor. Naewon-tang), violated his precept of celibacy but the king released him. When Master Yeonguk of the Chaeun Order wanted to punish him, he rebuked Master Yeonguk by saying, “if you are going to punish me, you should demolish the whole of Buddhism. Is there any monk who is not like me?” The refutation enables us to guess at the level of corruption prevalent at the time.1 Accordingly the new social tendency of persecuting Buddhism and promoting Confucian­ism can be considered to be the outcome of the criticism of the degradation of Buddhism.

Korean Neo-Confucianism (Kor. Seongni-hak) was established by scholars Yi Che-hyon, Yi Saek, Chong Mong-chu, Yi Seung-in and Chong To-chon in the late Goryeo Period. They openly criti­cized Buddhism and cited the general degeneration as the basis of their criticism. A memorial presented to the king by Confucian scholar, Yi Saek, who believed in Buddhism, is a good example of the situation of the time.

At the time that our founder, King T’aejo, established the nation, Buddhist temples and ordinary houses were not distinguishable from one another and their relationship was unclear. After the middle period, Buddhist followers greatly increased, so that the Five Schools (of Yeolban, Namsan, Hwaom, Peopsang and Peopseong) and the Two Orders (of Seon and Kyo) maintained temples everywhere which merely became breeding places of profiteering and self-interest. Now the followers become con­temptible and everyone has become lazy; sensible people everywhere should be greatly concerned.

The Buddha was an attained spiritual leader, but he must be ashamed of his present day followers. I, your Majesty’s ser­vant, reverently bow and humbly ask you to prepare a provi­sion according to the following restrictions: Please give monk’s licenses to already ordained monks and nuns. Please send monks with no identification to the army. Please remove any newly built temples and punish monks who do not obey. Please do not grant permission to ordinary people to be ordained as monks or nuns.2

This memorial indicates how corrupt both Seon and Kyo orders hadbecome at that time. But is not irrelevant to consider King Kongmin’s character in the context.

Master T’aego Po-u, in a speech in the fifth month of the sixth year of the reign of King Kongmin, severely pointed out the uselessness to the nation as a whole of the king’s blind faith in Buddhism.

The way of a king lies in educating people by practicing the Buddha Dharma, setting an example and teaching it, but not in blind belief in Buddhism, which is not necessary. If a king is not able to govern the nation with virtue, though he believes in Buddhism intrinsically, what will be the benefit? … The king should give up the wrong and follow the right for the nation to be free from hardship.3

This was also the time when Yuan and Ming dynasties were replaced. The uncertainty of the policy of the foreign ministry along with the trend of distrusting Buddhism after the affair of Master Shindon, who gained favor with King Kongmin and subse­quently became in charge of national administration, led to the way. Confucianism was thus able to openly criticize Buddhism and get established as the new religious direction of the nation. The Confucianism of that time had already passed the stage of its early acceptation of Buddhism by passing the following remark displaying its attitude of negotiation, “Religion is Buddhism and the study of the principles of government is Confucianism.” In this way Confu­cianism showed itself to be the new religion with a new metaphys­ical doctrinal system.

Especially Neo-Confucianism was founded with a strong, hid­den inclination towards the persecution of Buddhism so that it was inevitable that Neo-Confucianism would attack anything it could in Buddhism in order to strengthen its own position.4

With all of this in mind, let us take a look at this attack. Buddhism responded to the confrontation by concentrating in two directions. The first was internal and aimed at correcting the ruined moral fiber of the monks and establishing a pure samgha, and the second was to promote the Seon tradition through introducing the new Seon Dharma. Examples of the first include various belief and practice communities in the middle and late Goryeo periods, and integration of the second was the introduction of Linji Seon. The two, of course, cannot be completely separated from each other. But when we keep the latter in mind, the three great masters T’aego Po-u, Naong Hyegeun and Baegun Gyeonghan are of central impor­tance.

These three masters were great Buddhist philosophers who gave direction to the middle and the late 14th century with their fine thinking. They shared the common experience of having all returned after studying the Dharma of Linji Seon in Yuan, even though their aims were different. Master Po-u went to Yuan in 1346, the second year of the reign of King Ch’ungmok, and returned after he had learned from Master Shiwu Qinggong, the 18th generation of the Linji Order.5 Master Naong went to Yuan in 1348, the fourth year of the reign of the same king and returned after he had received the Dharma of Master Pingshan Chulin who had studied with Master Shiwu Qinggong under the same teacher.6 Master Baegun went to Yuan in 1351, the third year of the reign of King Ch’ungjeong and came back after receiving the Dharma of Master Shiwu Qinggong.7

At that time the Linji Order was divided into the Huanglong (Kor. Hwangnyong) and the Yangqi (Kor. Yangji) orders, and the order which the three masters introduced was the latter. The Yangqi Order was the most popular in China because its central thought proclaimed was the idea of “the natural true person.”

The Seon tradition of the Linji Order was not, of course, first introduced to Korea in the time of these three masters;8 it had already been proclaimed by Master Pojo Chinul (1158-1210). The Linji approach of “the shortcut gate” (Kor. kyeongjeol-mun) of in­vestigating the “principal topic” called “hwadu’ (literally head (topic) of speech”) originates from the Sayings of Dahui, and Master Dahui Zonggao belonged to the Yangqi lineage of the Linji Order.9

The core of the tradition of the Linji Order lies in the Seon of investigating the hwadu (Kor. Ganhwa Seon), and it was contin­ued in books such as The Essence and the Songs of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-yeomsong) of Master Hyeshim; Stories of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Yeomsong-seolhwa) of Master Kagun; The Assembly of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Yeomsong-sawon) of Master Iryon; and Second Edition of the Assembly of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Chung-pyeon-yeomsong-sawon) of Master Hon-gu. These teachings were also found in Resolving Doubts about Observ­ing the Principal Topic (Kor. Ganhwa-kyeorui-ron) of Master Chinul, and in this way the main stream of Korean Seon was finally established.10of Master Chinul, and in this way the main stream of Korean Seon was finally established.

But the existing streams of Seon introduced to Korea and incorporated into the Nine Mountains of Seon included elements of confrontation and conflict, and the reality of these problems became exaggerated and even reached the level of a national issue.

Nowadays monks of the Nine Mountains of Seon rely on the support of their own Dharma families, seriously distin­guishing between the families and judging their superiority; this leads to fights. Recently the struggle is getting more violent. They hold spears and shields in their hands and hedge fences, hence they destroy the harmony and break the good Dharma Alas! Seon was originally one family but men have made it into many families. Where can the truth of the Buddha be found? Where is equality and no-self, the pure family tradition of no formality which was continued through succeeding gene­rations of masters? Where is the will to protect the Dharma and comfort the nation of the late kings?11

Subsequently, Master Po-u presented a memorial to the king to unite all sects and strictly purify the dignity of the samgha by setting up the Pure Rules of Baizhang. Master Po-u’s proposal was adopted, so the Department of Harmonization (Kor. Wonyung-pu) was established at Kwangjo-sa in the same year.12 All monks were forced to study for the monks’ examination (Kor. kongbuseon) at Hoeam-sa under the supervision of Master Hyegeun in 1370, the 19th year of the reign of King Kongmin,13 and this constituted an effort at accomplishing the philosophical integration of the Five Schools and Two Orders. This effort speaks of the deep effect of the conviction of the masters that the active nature of Linji Seon could be the mental background for governing the nation.14

This introduction of Linji Seon and the advice of masters Po­ll, Naong and Baegun can be regarded as a presentation of the new ideology based on reforming declining Buddhism in the late Goryeo Period. It also performed the double service of making a Buddhist contribution to the nation even though it was a failure and had little effect. This was partly due to the fact that the political char­acter of the time was conservative, and the corruption of the samgha was having such a deep influence that hardly anything could be done about it.15

The series of reformations which were actively pursued, like the union of the Nine Mountains and the transfer of the capital to Hanyang (present day Seoul) from Gaegyong by Master Po-u was stopped by various political upheavals. For example, King Kongmin who had initially tried to establish a national identity through an anti-Yuan policy, allowed his understanding of Buddhism to become warped in later life as he worked hard for good fortune alone. Due to this he was killed in 1374 by some influen­tial families, showing that the sovereign power of Goryeo was actually controlled by them and not necessarily by the king.

The new movement of Goryeo Buddhism, without maturing into a philosophy for saving the nation, was overwhelmed by the strong arguments used by Confucian scholars to reject Buddhism, and so Buddhism had to walk with a declining nation towards the sun setting on its former glory and the result was a dark period of political suppression during the 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty.16

Still the introduction of Linji Seon in the late Goryeo Period had significant philosophical repercussions in its three main aspects of introspection by the samgha itself, presentation of the basic principles for the purification movement and proclamation of the Son tradition as a means of spiritual life in peaceful times.

C. The Life and Writings of Master Baegun

Master Baegun Gyeonghan was born at Kobu of Jolla-do Province in 1298, the 24th year of the reign of King Chungyeol. He was ordained early and received the pen name of Kyeonghan. He did not have a fixed teacher but wandered around Korea It is not certain when he went to Yuan but it seems that he stayed there for a year between 1351 and 1352.17 As in the case of Mas­ter Naong, he also asked Master Zhikong about the Dharma and received it from Master Shiwu Qinggong. He was recommended by Master T’aego to King Kongmin and called to a special post by the king in 1357, the sixth year of his reign but refused courte­ously. Eight years later, in 1365, the 14th year of the reign of the same king, he was again recommended by Master Naong and ac­cepted to be chief monk of Shin-gwang-sa. In 1368, he occupied the position of chief monk of Heungseong-sa, which was built as a royal temple for the king’s dead Queen Noguk-kongju from Yuan. He took charge of the monks’ examinations in the 19th year of the reign, and then stayed in various small hermitages. He passed away at Chwiam-sa in Yeoju at the age of 77 in 1374, the 23rd year of King Kongmin.

Some count the year of his death as 1375. Because they have consulted the record of Yi Ku in the preface of the Sayings of Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-eorok) where it is written “I have seen his greatness when I met him at Shin-gwang-sa in the fall of the year of the snake (1365), and he left ten years later.” If so, the year of his death becomes 1375, and the year of his birth is 1299 because of the record which states that he lived for 77 years.18 But then the “after ten years” mentioned in the preface could be 1374 if one counts the ten years from 1365. Hence the date of his death could be either 1374 or 1375.

The Sayings of Master Baegun is recorded by Master Seokchan, Master Baegun’s assistant, in which the prefaces of Yi Saek and Yi Ku are recorded along with the Dharma speeches, hymns, poems and letters of Master Baegun. The book was published in two volumes. Of particular interest is the Excerpts of Direct Point­ing to the Mind Essentials: Abstracted by Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-chorok-jikji-simche-yojeol), two volumes which is now preserved in Paris. It is the world’s first book printed with movable metal type and is therefore of great importance in the history of printing.

The Excerpts was edited when the master was 75 years old. He chose these essential writings for “direct pointing to the human mind, so as to behold the Buddha-nature and become a Buddha” from books like Jinde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch. Jinde chuandeng lu, Kor. Kyeongdeok-jeondeung-nok) and Col­lections of the Five Lamps (Ch. Wudeng huiyuan, Kor. Odeung-hoewon). It includes Dharma speeches and hymns from the seven past Buddhas through generations of masters. Though some of the ideas of the editor, Master Baegun, are included in the book, as it is a collection of excerpts, it can not be regarded as representative of the Master Baegun’s teachings.

D. The Characteristics of Master Baegun’s Seon Thought

1) The Problem of Tradition of Order

Master Baegun together with masters Po-u and Naong instigat­ed a new Seon tradition in the late Goryeo Period. However, as Master Baegun had certain characteristics which were special to him alone, he set up a unique family tradition which differs from other Korean Seon families.

In the Sayings of Master Baegun the expression “tradition of order” (Kor. chongp’ung, literally “wind of the order”) often ap­pears. What order does the word “order” refer to? Does it mean the general Seon Order, the one that differs from Kyo in the Seon and Kyo two orders, or some other specific order? It is necessary to examine this, because this inquiry is closely related to the ques­tion of whether Master Baegun’s lineage is legitimate Linji Seon or not.

In the Sayings of Master Baegun, first volume, there is a con­versation between Master Baegun and a monk. There Master Baegun says, “I am going to fan the wind of the order of 1,000 years old, so that it blossoms in good fortune in the Three Han States (Kor. Samhan).” And the monk asks, “What tune are you singing and whose wind of order are you succeeding?” Hereby Master Baegun answers, “I sold fresh wind to the bones and bought white clouds casually.”19

The phrases “fresh wind” and “white clouds” were used in the death hymn of Master Shiwu, which was sent to Master Baegun. Yi Ku wrote in his preface to the Sayings of Master Baegun in 1377 as follows:

This enables us to know that Master Shiwu transmitted his Dharma to Master Baegun.

Hence the phrase of buying white clouds and selling fresh wind signifies the transmission of the Dharma from Master Shiwu to Master Baegun, and Master Baegun’s answer indicates that the tradition of his order was that of Master Shiwu. Considering the fact that Master Shiwu was of the 18th generation after Master Linji, it can be guessed that Master Baegun had the tradition of the Linji lineage as his tradition. Moreover, the same question which the monk asked Master Baegun is also found in the Records of Linji (Ch. Linji lu, Kor. Imje-rok)as below.

(A monk) asked, What tune are you singing and whose wind of order are you succeeding?” Master Linji answered, “I asked Master Huangbo three times and was struck three times.”2I

The characters of the question are exactly the same as the one given to Master Baegun. Here, Master Linji, by telling that he asked Master Huangbo three times and was struck three times, re­veals that he is designated as the successor of the order of Master Huangbo and sings of Master Huangbo’s family tradition. We can also definitely conclude, through the same question and answer, that Master Baegun succeeded the tradition of the order of Master Shiwu and sang Master Shiwu’s family song. In addition, this re­cord shows us that Master Baegun showed his preference for Mas­ter Linji when he compared the different family traditions of the various Seon families. After he assessed the family traditions of var­ious people like Flower Garland scholar Li Tongxuan, Master Weiyang, masters Shitou and Yaoshan, he added:

(They) sometimes hit with sticks or shout, and sometimes they become the guest or the host, sometimes they take and sometimes they leave and they wielded practicality like thun­der. Hence masters Linji and Deshan alone surpass all others.22

This attitude of Master Baegun towards Master Linji continued in the relationship with Master Shiwu. Therefore Master Baegun, in the following letter to Master T’aego, wrote that both of them are disciples of Master Shiwu.

This follower planted good seed in his past life so he could join with you, great master, and so both of us are disci­ples of Master Shiwu. …Now in the world of today, apart from Master Zhikong, it is rare to see such a great master as Master Shiwu. Though the master has already passed away, his “Seon precedent” (or “case,” Kor. kongan) remains.23

But there are several problems in regard to Master Baegun as the legitimate successor of Master Shiwu. Professor Suh Yoon-kil thinks that Master Baegun did not succeed Master Shiwu’s Dharma lineage though it is certain that Master Baegun did study under Master Shiwu.24 The reason lies in the fact that Master Baegun attained awakening while he was reading from “Song of Enlighten­ment” of Master Yongjia Xuanjue one year after his return from Yuan and not while he was studying under Master Shiwu. Therefore Professor Suh concludes that the meeting between Master Baegun and Master Shiwu was not an opportunity for awakening but one in which the Dharma succession was established. In spite of this, Master Baegun is still of the same lineage as Master Shiwu according to Professor Suh.

Even though Master Baegun is not regarded as a legitimate successor of the Linji lineage, the expressions which he reveals in his Sayings enable us to guess that the family tradition mentioned by him was that of Master Shiwu who succeeded Master Linji, and so we have to accept his claim that “both of us are disciples of Master Shiwu.

2) True Teaching of No-mind

Though both masters Baegun and Po-u were disciples of Mas­ter Shiwu who succeeded Master Linji’s Dharma tradition, the two masters were quite different from each other in spreading the tradi­tion. Master Po-u himself does not use the word “Linji tradition,” and he had already attained awakening by investigating the hwadu “No” (Kor. Mu) of Master Mazu before he went to Yuan and met Master Shiwu. When he met Master Shiwu, he presented what he had realized along with his “Song of the Ancient Hermitage” (Kor. T’aego-am-ka). Master Shiwu responded by saying, “Looking at what you have realized, your study is right and your view is clear. But leave all of them.” Master Po-u replied, “It has been a long time since I have left them.”25 Master Po-u, after his return, was consistent with the teachings of the Son of investigating the hwadu.

But in the case of Master Baegun, he did not make “investi­gating the hwadu” a subject of discussion. He only once mentioned the hwadu.

This mountain monk wandered around the south and north of the Yangzi River (of China) and visited all good masters last year. They taught students using hwadus like “No” of Master Mazu, “all Dharmas return to the one” and “look for your original face before the birth of your parents” … there was no other teaching.

Finally I visited Master Shiwu at Tienhuan hermitage on Mt. Xiawushan and assisted him several days. There I learned the “true teaching of no-mind” and completely realized the utmost sublime truth of the Tathagatas.26

Considering this, Master Baegun seems to have studied investi­gation of the hwadu under Master Shiwu and realized the “utmost sublime truth” of the “true teaching of no-mind.” Master Baegun talked about the utmost sublime truth when he gave a Dharma talk.

The ways and means of old sages are as many as the sands of the Ganges River. But the Sixth Patriarch said “It is neither the wind nor the flag but the mind which moves”, and this is the utmost true teaching which transcends the main thesis as well as all forms.27

Here, “the movement of the mind” is a concept opposite to that of “no-mind,” and Master Baegun grasped not “no-mind” but “the movement of the mind” as the focus of the problem. Accordingly, “no-mind is the “utmost true teaching” and it is the es­sence of Master Baegun’s main Seon thesis. The reason that he quoted the above phrases of Master Huineng several times was to emphasize no-mind.

Subsequently, Master Baegun expressed his view of the truth as the “utmost mental impression”, 28 the “utmost sublime truth”29 or the “true teaching of no-mind and no-thought,”30and said I have already realized the ‘no-mind’ and I wish that unenlightened people may attain the same realization as I have done.”31 He again emphasized:and said I have already realized the ‘no-mind’ and I wish that unenlightened people may attain the same realization as I have done.” He again emphasized:

If I had not learned the true teaching of no-mind, how could this great liberation of today be possible? The phrase, “no-mind,” is something which surpasses myriads of causes between a teacher and a disciple, and is not to be neglected. Nothing can pay for this enormous kindness, though I try to exert myself to the utmost.32

This saying shows how ardent the shock of “no-mind and no-thought” made him become. His enthusiasm is clearly shown in his letter to the king written in the ninth month in the year of the dog, when he was asked by the king to take charge of the exami­nations. There he mentions, “This is the utmost sublime means, Sometimes it is called no-mind or sometimes no-thought.”33 Master Baegun’s method of reflecting on his study is to avoid the following nine things.

What is reflecting on study?

It is not necessarily investigating the hwadu,

nor is it necessarily considering the hwadu,

nor is it necessarily speaking as a substitute for the sayings of old masters,

nor is it necessarily speaking,

nor is it necessarily reading sutras,

nor is it necessarily writing or studying commentaries,

nor is it necessarily wandering all around searching for teach­ers,

nor is it necessarily getting away from noisiness and searching for calmness,

nor is it moving the mind and looking outside, nor is it clear­ing the mind and silently looking inside.

If you follow your own direction, being influenced by such things, then please realize that what you are doing has nothing to do with reflection on study.34

And then he gave a definition of reflection on study using old sayings that sincere students should keep in mind. “Reflection on study should be done faithfully, and awakening should be attained faithfully. One should learn no-mind and effortless action and be always free from thoughts and awake. No-thought sees the original person.”

The conclusion of Master Baegun’s thinking is that all means of investigating the hwadu and reading the sutras and studying the commentaries are inferior to no-thought. But Master Baegun warned of the misunderstanding of no-mind, saying that no-mind and no-thought do not indicate a consciousness that is similar to the earth, to a tree, to a tile or to a stone.35 Therefore he sang in his “Song of No-mind” (Kor. Mushim-ka):

If mind is deserted

Conditions become calm by themselves.

And when conditions become calm

Mind does not move by itself.

That is the so-called

True teaching of no-mind.36

As we have examined so far, Master Baegun only realized the true teaching of no-mind and no-thought and declared them as the best way. Though masters Po-u, Naong and Baegun were contem­porary masters who studied under Master Shiwu, their family tradi­tions were not the same. Especially Master Baegun claimed, “This old monk came into the world trying to hit the Dharma drum and straighten out the already disintegrated principles. You look at it closely.” The claim well shows his will to revive the Goryeo Bud­dhist world of no-principle by introducing a new line of Seon thinking and development.

3) The Stage of Awakening

The emphasis of the true teachings of no-thought are general­ly found in the Seon thought of Master Baegun. In his Dharma talk “Minor Talk on Entering HeungSeong-sa, 37 he explains equal­ity. Assuming that Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, or total awakening is equality and that there is neither high nor low, he went on to describe this equality as not being the cutting off of the legs of a crane and then joining them to a duck, or the breaking of a mountain in order to fill up a valley. Therefore, long ones are Dharma-bodies as they are, and short ones are Dharma-bodies as they are. Dharma sticks are Dharma sticks, mountains are mountains, Water is water, holiness is holiness, and worldiness is worldiness.

And he added that wise people can understand this but ignorant people just cling to the sayings.

Here, the stage of awakening after all indicates the stage of equality where discrimination is cut off. Accordingly, it can be considered that no-thought does not mean no thinking but it signi­fies the absolute equality of no discrimination. That is why real equality regards mountains as mountains and water as water, and never makes mountains into water or water into mountains.

Master Baegun thought that the stage of equality of no-thought is understood differently according to the different faculties. When he gave a Dharma speech, he held up a Dharma stick and showed it to his students, asking “What do we call this? Should we call it a Dharma stick, or not?” Then he answered himself:38

But such an explanation is the judgment of Kyo, and Seon never regards things in that way. The attitude of Seon is as below:

The Dharma stick is a Dharma stick,

And the Buddha hall is a Buddha hall.

Mountains are mountains, water is water and the mundane is the mundane. Why is it so?

The suitable place for all Dharmas is of itself the truth, calm­ness, extinction (Skt. Nirvana) and liberation.39

Master Baegun also thought that Seon and Kyo originally are not two. But he understood this level of awakening from the attitude of the Seon of no-thought, and he emphasized that belief is first needed above all to attain that stage. When the Buddha said “People of mind can surely attain Buddhahood,” he meant to give rise to clear thinking free from error and defilements, the utmost awak­ened mind. The reason that students think it is hard to do so is because of their lack of “belief in determination.” He emphasized that the belief in determination comes from the will for determi­nation,” and that this belief is the start of entering the truth.40

4) Presenting Dharma of Son of the Patriarchs and Means of No-mind

Master Baegun, in his writing called “Seon of the patriarchs” (Kor. Chosa Seon) explained the Seon that the patriarchs teach and use to guide their students and what it means to practice a subject of discussion. According to him, traditional Seon is the Seon of the Tathagatha (Kor. Yeorae Seon), and the Seon of the patriarchs is the Chinese style of Seon which was a new form which had not existed previously in India at the time of the Buddha.

He maintained that the main thesis of the Seon of the patri­archs is expressed by color, sound and language, and a practitioner attains awakening through these means. He explained through these examples:41

Representing the Dharma through speech can be done in this way: “Have you eaten your rice porridge?” “I have.” Then Wash your bowl. To attain awakening at that time is done like that.

Representing the Dharma through speech and sound is: “Do you hear the sound of the stream?” “I do.” Then immedi­ately, “Enter into it.” To attain awakening at that time is done like this.

Representing the Dharma by sound is this: It is to attain awakening by listening to “the sounds of crows, magpies, donkeys and dogs which are all turning the wheel of the Tathagata.”

Representing the Dharma by color and sound is: Various actions like lifting a stick, standing up a switch42, snapping the fingers and scolding are all the Seon of the patriarchs. Thus when the sound is heard, that is the time of awakening, and one attains awakening when one sees colors.

Hence Master Baegun thought that Master Lingyun attained awakening by color, Master Xiangyan by sound, and it is great that Master Yunmen was troubled with a leg and Master Xuansha with a foot.

That was the explicit explanation of the characteristics of the Seon of the patriarchs and its ways of representing the Dharma. Master Baegun, when he was in-charge of the examinations in 1370, the 19th year of the reign of King Kongmin, carefully de­fined his ways of explaining the Dharma in his writings to the king. There he wrote that the utmost sublime means of practicing the hwadu and the state of no-mind are as follows:

To express my opinion concerning study, students’ medita­tion can be examined using the hwadu, making an announce­ment, and using color, sound and speech.43

On this assumption, he then gave precise instructions and ex­amples explaining:

Firstly, the hwadu is like the “No” of Master Mazu, “all Dharmas return to the one” and look for your original face before the birth of your parents.”

Secondly, make an announcement like “the big pine in the garden,” three keun (Ch. jin) of yams” and “a dried shit stick.”

Thirdly, representing the Dharma by color is like lifting a stick or standing up a switch.

Fourthly, representing the Dharma by sound is like beat­ing it down with a stick or shouting.

Fifth, representing the Dharma by speech is like this: “Do you hear the sound of water?” “I do.” “Enter into it.”

Sixth, there is no-mind and no-thought.

This “no-mind and no-thought” were added later and they be­long to the Seon thought of Master Baegun. Explaining the sixth, he considers it the most sublime means and explains:

There is a most sublime means, namely, the teaching of no-mind and no-thought. That is according to the sayings of the Sixth Patriarch, “If one does not think at all of any good or evil, then he/she automatically enters into the original place of the mind. This state is always calm and sublime like the sands of the Ganges River,” of Master Huangbo; “If one, as a student of truth, cannot be mindless he/she cannot accomplish anything at all though he/she practices for several lives,” of Zhuoxianggong; “If a single thought does not arise, the whole appears” of the teachers like Li Wenhe; “Proceed on a straight path to the utmost awakening and do not be concerned with right and wrong.”44

Master Baegun, quoting the sayings of various people, said that no-mind or no-thought are the utmost sublime means. To him the greatest way of representing the Dharma in the Seon of the patri­archs is not the hwadu but no-mind or no-thought.

E. Conclusion

As we have seen, it is difficult to draw a conclusion as to whether Master Baegun was a legitimate successor of Master Linji or not. But what can be said for sure is that he was faithful to the family tradition of linji Seon and served Master Shiwu as his teacher. As far as investigating the hwadu, though he mentioned little about it, he did not emphasize it as much as Master Po-u did. Instead, he stressed on Seon of no-mind and no-thought, similar to the concepts of “the noble man of no work” or “the true man of no rank’ which are seen mainly in the Sayings of Linji For him, awakening is a stage of equality of no-thought, that is, a stage of considering mountains as mountains and water as water.

Subsequently, he properly classified and explained the ways of representing the Dharma of the Seon of the patriarchs and the means of guiding and teaching students. According to him, no-mind and no-thought are the most sublime ways above all other ways of the hwadu, making an announcement, through color, sound, speech, speech and sound, and color and sound. Once again, he considered the means of no-mind or no-thought more sublime than investigating the hwadu in the practice of the Seon of the patriarchs and in the training of young aspirants. These are the unique characteristics of Master Baegun’s teachings.

NOTES

1.History of Goryeo (Kor. Goryeosa)38; article of the sixth month, the fourth year of the reign of King Kongmin; and Yi Neung-hwa, Compre­hensive History of Korean Buddhism (Kor. Joseon-bulgyo-tongsa) 1, p. 312.)38; article of the sixth month, the fourth year of the reign of King Kongmin; and Yi Neung-hwa, (Kor. J) 1p. 312.

It has been taken for 50 years or more since Seon(Zen in Jap./ Ch’an in China/Sitting Meditation in the US) had been introduced as a technique of practice in American society. Many Zen masters came to the States from South-eastern areas; Korea, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri-Lanka, Vietnam, and then they made up a new linage of American Zen, since Suzuki Shunryu(1904~1971) had built San Francisco Zen Center(SFZC) in 1958, in which a hall for practicing and a farm for self-sufficiency are completed.

Today, it is due to them that there are the various methods of Zen with many Zen-Centers and web-sites on internet for meditation practice in the States. If we surf on internet for a moment, immediately, we’d find out hundreds of web-sites related with Zen. I heard, that there are about 30 to 50 thousand of Zen Centers in the States, by a Zen-practitioner whom I met, while I was staying in the States in 2004.

Among them, first SFZC is organizing 9 Zen Centers around San Francisco, 10 in California area and 14 in the other areas. And Tibetan Shambhalla Center is organizing about 1,500 branches all around the States, IMS(Insight Meditation Society) is organizing about 5 hundred or more, and there are lots of Zen-Centers and practitioners. We can say, the number is not so considerable in the big country, but it is raised up so rapidly for a short period.

I classified the groups in the States into 4 methods of practice; Vajrayana Practice by Tibetan gurus, Vippassana Practice by South-eastern practitioners, Mook-jo Seon(Silent Illumination without kong-an/kung-an in China) by Japanese practitioners and Gan-hua Seon(Meditation with kong-an or hua-t’ou) by Korean, Japanese and Chinese practitioners. By the methods, Vajrayana is surpassed others, Vipassana is the next, and then Mook-jo, and the last is Gan-hua.

Hereby, specifically I’ll look into the Gan-hua Seon method in American society. In the lineage of Gan-hua Seon, there are separated to many families from their own Zen Masters, but I’ll study a few big families among them and also study the field related with 3 countries; Korea, China, Japan. I don’t want to review the great Zen Masters’ biographies, either. So I’d like to mention their activities inside of the States.

Ⅱ. Gan-hwa Seon of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

1. Life of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

Joshu Sasaki Roshi(1907~ ) arrived in L.A. on July, 1962, because his teacher asked him to go to America to teach Zen Buddhism and at that time, Dr. Robert Harmon and Dr. Gladys Weisbart had been independently trying to bring a Rinzai Zen monk to L.A. They sponsored Master Joshu Roshi to come to the US.

After arriving there, the Master Rhoshi began to teach Zen(Seon) for a few Zen students in a small house lent by Dr. Harmon. Before long, his teaching were attracting so many Zen students and the more lay-people gathered to learn his Zen teaching. At last, the Cimarron Zen Center, since renamed Rinzai-ji Zen Center as the first Zen Center, was opened in L.A.1)

Three year later, Rinjai-ji’s main training center, Mt. Baldy Zen center, was opened. This Center has gained a reputation in international Zen circles for its rigorous practice for 19 hours a day. Most of Rinjai-ji’s monks and nuns have received some or all of intensive training there.

And Michelle Martin who were practicing at Mt. Baldy Zen center, asked to practice in New Mexico area, and then Master, Joshu S, Roshi opened Jamez Bodhi Mandala, now Bodhi Mandala Zen Center in 1974. It became Master J. S, Roshi’s second training Center, offering daily Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation) and communal work practice. In this Center, all practitioners were growing fresh greens and fruits together. It means Zen practice is not different from farming everyday life.

For 5 years, Master J. S, Roshi had never tired, offering Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation), investigating kong-an, having private Dharma meeting in a very small house. He had always served tea, cooked for himself, whenever he met with anyone who came to practice. Specially, to commemorate his fifth birthday in 1967, he began to practice Seven-Day Intensive Retreat(Dai-Sesshin) at first, which has developed to another tradition for practice under the Master J. S, Roshi’s teaching. During the Intensive Retreat, practitioners usually do Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation). Now there are 21 branches in the US under his teaching.

It is notable that the Master J. S, Roshi has held the Buddhist Sutra Seminar every summer at Mt. Baldy Zen Center since 1977. Over 16 years, many Buddhist scholars have taken part in the seminar from other countries. Naturally, Rinjai Zen under Master J. S, Roshi’s teachings was more prevalent.

He has taught his Zen students with old patriarchs’ Dharma Talks and interviewed them in the face of him with private until now, though he is walking 98th year. It is interesting that he was familiar with Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn friendly. And he was very sad, when the Master, Seung Sahn passed away in 2004.

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Joshu S, Roshi

Even though Master J. S, Roshi has taught Gan-hwa Seon with kong-ans under Rinzai-ji, I wonder how he has checked the kong-ans for his Zen students. As for me, it was difficult to get the related data more. However, it’s obvious that he teaches Zen(Sitting Meditation) with hard, using the traditional method of ‘investigating kong-an’ and his own modern style. I confirmed to the Zen Center of Master J. S, Roshi a few times, that Master J. S, Roshi gives Hua-t’ou to the Zen students who is needed to test and checks the answers in the face of him. But usually beginners have learned the ‘counting breathing’ first and then, ‘investigating Hua-t’ou’ one after another.

Until now they have kept on practicing ‘7-Day Intensive Retreat’ one or two times a month, and Master J. S, Roshi has had private interview directly 4 times everyday during the period. At that time, usually he gives big questions(Hua-t’ou) as follow; “Who am I?”, “What am I?”, “What was my original face before I was born?”, “What is it?”.

However, we couldn’t confirm any more because they don’t want show their private teachings. They wants to come and ask for their methods of practice the Zen Center, if somebody would have any question. Though Master J. S, Roshi is a Japanese, he has chosen only Gan-hua(Investigating Hua-t’ou), not Mook-jo(Silent Illumination) as the methods of practice.

And we know he also uses the Buddhist daily-service or communal working and so forth, by the methods of practice, on his web-sites. During the ‘Intensive Retreat’, practitioners do Zazen(Ch’am Seon/Sitting Meditation), must keep silence, and finally can be free out of all delusion. By doing this, we could attain the self-nature and get wisdom to help all sentient-beings everyday life.2)

Consequently, Master J. S, Roshi emphasizes that you attain your true nature through the practice with kong-ans, and apply the wisdom into your real life. For the purport, he teaches Zazen(Ch’am Seon with Hua-t’ou), Intensive Retreat(Dai Sesshin), checks the kong-ans(private interview) directly, and ‘counting breathing’ for the beginners. And on farming greens and fruits, he leads the practitioners to apply daily life with Zen.

Ⅲ. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Sheng-yen

1. Life of Zen Master, Sheng-yen

Zen Master, Sheng-yen(聖嚴, 1931~ ) was born in a small village near Shanghai in 1931. Later on his Japanese teacher, Bantetsugu Roshi who met in his studying in Japan, asked him to teach Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Buddhism in the US. But he couldn’t speak English, so hesitated to leave. However, his teacher encouraged to him, ‘Zen doesn’t rely on words. Why worry about words?’

When he had traveled to the State in 1977, where he had served as the abbot of a temple in New York for a while. And he opened a Ch’an(Seon/Meditation) Center in Queens, New York, to propagate Chinese Ch’an(Zen) in there. In 1978 he became a professor at Chinese Culture Univ. in Taipei. In 1980 he found a Ch’an(Seon/Zen) Center and Chung-Hwa Buddhist Cultural Institute in New York. In 1989 founded the International Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain and reopened the Center in Queens to New York Branch of ICEFDDM. Nowadays there are 24 branches of ICEFDDM in New York. In the Center, there are organizing many programmes as follow; ‘One-Day Ch’an Retreat’, ‘One-Day Recitation Retreat’, ‘Three-Day Recitation Retreat’, ‘Seven-Day Intensive Hua-t’ou Retreat’, ‘Ten-Day Intensive Silent Illumination Retreat’, ‘Family Zen Camp’ and so forth. Specially they have Dharma meeting for questions and answers every programme.

Finally, Master Sheng-yen had affected to open the Buddhist subject in almost 40 universities in the US. Currently 3,000 or more Zen students follow him in the States and about 300,000 are learning under his teaching in Taiwan. The Master has published more than 90 books, available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French and other languages.

It is notable that the Master received by two major lineages of Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Buddhism; Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School and Cao-Dong(Soto) School, and he became the Dharma heir in these two traditions. At age 28, sojourning at various monasteries, he had the deepest spiritual experience of his life. The experiences were recognized by the masters later. In 1975 he formally received transmission from Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Master Dong-Chu(東初, 1908-1977) of Cao-Dong(Soto) School and in 1978, from Ch’an(Zen/Seon) Master Ling Yuan(靈源, 1902-1988) of the Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School.3)

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen-Master, Sheng-yen

The Master emphasizes not only Gan-hua Seon(Ch’an/Zen), but also teaches sutras, mantra practice, and all the methods for practice. In his Dharma talking, there are basically included the Buddha’s teachings, theory of cause and effect, rebirth(samsara), emptiness and so forth. He also applies ‘Gan-hua Seon(investigating kung-an)’ of Lin-Ji(Rinzai) School, ‘Mook-jo Seon(silent illumination without kung-an)’ of Cao-Dong(Soto) School and ‘Ji-kwan(止觀/ Great Shamatha)’ of T’ien-t’ai School for practice. Regardless of the methods, he uses all the types for practice like; ‘counting breaths’, ‘reading sutras’, ‘invoking mantra’, ‘reciting buddha’s names’, ‘walking meditation’, ‘investigating Hua-t’ou’, ‘silent illumination’ and others.

‘Ch’an encompasses four key concepts: faith, understanding, practice, and realization. Faith belongs to the realm of religion; understanding is philosophical; practice is belief put into action; and realization is enlightenment. Without faith, we cannot understand; without understanding, we cannot practice; and without practice, we cannot realize enlightenment. Together, these four concepts create the doorway we enter to attain wisdom.”4) It means that the Master thought all the methods of practice are related with each other.

In practicing meditation, Master Sheng-yen explained very simply. For beginners sitting postures on the cushion and the way of counting breaths is taught first. It is important that body and mind be relaxed. If one is physically or mentally tense, trying to meditate can be counter-productive. Sometimes certain feelings or phenomena arise while meditating. If you are relaxed, whatever symptoms arise are usually good. It can be pain, soreness, itchiness, warmth or coolness, these can all be beneficial. But in the context of tenseness, these same symptoms may indicate obstacles.

For example, despite being relaxed when meditating, you may sense pain in some parts of the body. Frequently, this may mean that tensions you were not aware of are benefiting from the circulation of blood and energy induced by meditation. A problem originally existing may be alleviated. On the other hand, if you are very tense while meditating and feel pain, the reason may be that the tension is causing the pain. So the same symptom of pain can indicate two different causes: an original problem getting better, or a new problem being created.5)

The methods of Ch’an(Zen) that the Master, Sheng-yen has taught in the States are divided into three stages. The first stage is to balance the development of body and mind in order to attain mental and physical health. The second is free from the sense of the small “I”. The third is free from the large “I” to no “I”.

The method of the first stage is very simple. Mainly it requires you to relax all the muscles and nerves of your entire body, and concentrate your attention on the method you have just learned. With regard to the body, we stress the demonstration and correction of the postures of walking, standing, sitting and reclining. Because the tension of your muscles and nerves affects the activity of the brain, the key is therefore to reduce the burden on your brain.

In the second stage you begin to enter the stage of meditation. When you practice the method of cultivation taught by your teacher, you will enlarge the sphere of the outlook of the small “I” until it coincides with time and space. The small “I” merges into the entire universe, forming a unity. When you look inward, the depth is limitless; when you look outward, the breadth is limitless. Since you have joined and become one with universe, the world of your own body and mind no longer exists. What exists is the universe, which is infinite in depth and breadth. You yourself are not only a part of the universe, but also the totality of it.

In the third stage you realizes that the concept of the “I” does not exist. But you have only abandoned the small “I” and have not negated the concept of basic substance or the existence of God; you may call it Truth, the one and only God, the Almighty, the Unchanging Principle, or even the Buddha of Buddhism. If you think that it is real, then you are still in the realm of the big “I” and have not left the sphere of philosophy and religion.

I must emphasize that the content of Ch’an(Zen) does not appear until the third stage. Chan is unimaginable. It is neither a concept nor a feeling. It is impossible to describe it in any terms abstract or concrete.6)

What is the Master’s methods for Ch’an(Zen) practice? He showed two styles for getting enlightenment; Gan-hwa Seon(Ch’an/Zen) with hua-t’ou of Lin-Ji(Linjai) School and Mook-jo Seon(Silent Illumination without hua-t’ou) of Cao Dong(Soto) School. Both of them enables us to be relaxed physically or mentally, and concentrate on mindfulness. The purpose of practicing Ch’an is to “Illuminate the mind and see into one’s true nature.” This investigation is also called ” Clearly realizing one’s self-mind and completely perceiving one’s original nature.”

There are many hua-t’ou as such; “Who is dragging this corpse around?” “All dharmas return to one, where does this one return to?” “Before you were born what was your original face?’ and “Who is reciting Buddha’s name?” is common.

In fact, all hua-t’ou are the same. There is nothing uncommon, strange, or special about them. If you wanted to, you could say: “Who is reciting the sutras?” “Who is reciting the mantras? “Who is prostrating to the Buddha? ” Who is eating?” “Who is wearing these clothes?” “Who’s walking?” “Who’s sleeping?” They’re all the same.

The Master Sheng-yen said, the answer to the question “who” is derived from one’s Mind. Mind is the origin of all words. Thoughts come out of Mind ; Mind is the origin of all thoughts. Innumerable dharmas generate from the Mind ; Mind is the origin of all dharmas. In fact, hua-t’ou is a thought. Before a thought arises, there is the origin of words. Hence, looking into a hua-t’ou is contemplating Mind. There was Mind before your parents gave birth to you, so looking into your original face before you were born is contemplating Mind. 7)

Hence, hua-t’ou’s involving the word “who” are wonderful methods for practicing Ch’an. You have to investigate the great doubt, whenever you walking, standing, sitting and reclining. A necessary element of Hua-t’ou practice is the presence of a sense of doubt. It doesn’t mean thinking or considering of an idea repeatedly. By the Great doubt, it means a burning, uninterrupted persistence to get the root of a question which is unanswerable. That is the core of Gan-hua Seon practice.

Ⅳ. Gan-hua Seon of Zen master, Seung Sahn, Haeng-won

1. His motivation and development for propagating

Zen Master, Seung Sahn, Haeng-won(1927-2004) arrived at the States in April 1972, when he was 42. In there he saw the sight, that Japanese people were practicing Ch’am Seon(zazen/sitting meditation) at a Zen Center in L.A. He was shocked and thought, ‘Why don’t we, Korean monks, teach the Seon(Zen) like that?’ At the next moment, he determined firmly to propagate Korean Gan-hua Seon(Kanna Zen) in the States.8)

However, the Master couldn’t speak English. So, he called Jeong-sun, Kim who was a professor for the Uni. of Rhode Island State, and began to propagate his Zen talks for his Zen students in his house with him.

Before long time, the more people came to listen to his Zen talks at his small house. So, the Master lent a small apartment in Providence and began to transmit his Dharma Talk in there, and then around 50 to 90 Zen students gathered to listen per week. Finally, October 10th of the year, Providence Zen Center was opened with great.

As the Dharma meeting at Providence had developed, so many lay-people came to become one of his Zen disciples from all the areas. Consequently, he opened Cambridge Zen Center in Massachusetts in 1974, New Haven Zen Center in Connecticut in 1975, and Dharma Zen Center in L.A. in 1976, one after another.

From 1976, Seung-Sahn Zen Master has affected on lay-people very tremendously. For his teaching style, he has taught Zen students directly in the face of him, and corresponded with them frequently. Specifically, Stephen Mitchell who was called Ven. Moo-Gak as his buddhist name, published “Dropping Ashes on the Buddha in 1976”, which is the collections of the Master’s Dharma Talks, questions & answers with his students, stories for the old Zen masters or patriarchs, and the letters corresponded with his American Zen students and so forth. In a twinkle, the book was recorded as a best-seller on the list, and then many people who read it wanted to become his disciples eagerly.

Until now, in the US, there are opened 29 Zen Centers, and so many people are practicing Korean Seon(Zen/Meditation) under his teaching in there.

2. Gan-hua Seon of Zen Master, Haeng-won, Seung Sahn

The core of his teaching is ‘see your true nature!’ and practice to attain the ‘true nature’, as it is just substantial world for us.

The Master said, “The most important thing that characterized their practice is that they simply looked inside, very deeply inside, to find their true nature. This is how the Buddha’s first students attained his teaching, preserved it, and passed it down to us.”9)There are layed emphasis on the ‘attain true-nature’ through his all teachings. The Master pointed that the true nature is already realized as it is.

“Zen teaching is very clear and simple. It points directly at our self-nature so that we can wake up and help this world. When you see, when you hear, when you smell, when you taste, when you touch, when you think-everything, just like this, is the truth. Everything is Buddha-nature. Everything is your true nature.”10) “Zen Buddhism means going from the world of ignorance and delusion and attaining the perception that everything is truth, just as it is. This world is already complete, and never moving. If you want to attain that point, first you must let go of your opinions, your condition, and your situation. You can see clearly, hear clearly, smell clearly, taste clearly, touch clearly and think clearly. The name for that is truth.”11)

Everything is already truth, and true Dharma. Zen Master, Seung-Shan admits all the styles of Buddhist practice to attain the true nature. He didn’t insist on any special word, any meaning or any form to get enlightenment.

“In Buddhist practice we can say that there are four main techniques for learning Buddha’s teaching: reading sutras, invoking the name of the Buddha, mantra practice, and meditation. Even though meditation is known to be the most direct way of realizing the Buddha’s teaching, each of these can help you very much. But if you become attached to sutras, or to invoking the Buddha’s name, or to mantras, or even to certain aspects of formal sitting meditation, then any one of these techniques will hinder you and drag you off the path. So the important thing to remember is not to become attached to anything, but rather to use each practice or technique correctly to find your true nature.”12)

Though our goal is to attain true nature ultimately, every technique will be helpful for us as the above; reading sutra, invoking the name of the Buddha, mantra practice, and meditation. “No matter what the tradition, the point of any meditation practice is to help you realize your own original nature so that you can help all sentient beings get out of suffering. Meditation(Zen) is not about making something special. It is not about having some peaceful experience of stillness and bliss.”13) The most important thing is finding your true nature, not the technique, the Master means that.

But the Master insists on the practicing whatever you’ve got enlightened in your everyday life. Of course, even though attaining true nature means that we have nothing to attain because everything is already complete, through the practicing to attain, we could keep a not-moving mind in any situation or condition and control the mind clear from moment to moment and control all the functions correctly to help all sentient beings. Meditation doesn’t mean only sitting in a straight posture, but keep your mind clearly all the time. “So moment-to-moment do-it mind is very important. Just-now mind. It has no subject and no object.”14)

Hereby, Zen Master, Seung-Shan specially teaches Gan-hua Seon as a technique for practicing. In his teaching there are two types of kong-ans(hua-t’ou/ big question); one is for looking inside, and the other is for testing the hua-t’ou(big questions) as follow; ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I?’, ‘Only don’t know!’ and so forth. “There are many, many teaching words in this book. There are Hynayana word, Mahayana words, and Zen word. There are Buddhist and Christian words………..too many words! But all of these words are not necessary. Words and speech are only thinking, and thinking makes suffering. You must throw them all in the garbage! The reason for this is that our true nature is not dependent on understanding. This is why I only teach “don’t know.”…….”Don’t know” is not Buddhist or Christian or Zen or anything…………….I only teach ‘don’t know'”15) Master said, ‘never forget these big questions, ‘Only don’t know!’, ‘What am I?’ and so forth.

“In the Kwan Um School of Zen…………., the point of kong-an practice is to show you how to connect your don’t know mind with everyday life. How does your meditation on the cushion find its correct function, from moment to moment, to help other people? Nowadays this world is moving very quickly, and there are always new situations………………..If you only hold on to ‘Mu(無, nothing)’, attach to old poetic commentaries, and make some special experience out of Zen practice, you will lose your way. When you step out onto the street keeping ‘Muuuuuuuu’, maybe you will be hit by a car because you are only holding One Mind. However, our style of kong-ans means using kong-ans as practice to instantly perceive your correct situation, your correct relationship to that situation, and your correct function in that situation.”16)

Not holding One Mind, but perceiving your correct situation in your everyday life using the kong-ans. His teaching means that practice to attain your true nature using kong-an, and get wisdom in everyday life. On these days, it is important to apply the kong-ans in our everyday living.

These kong-ans were conventional methods for the Zen masters to review if their students got the right view through practicing in the past.

“When a Zen student practices hard and claims to have attained some insight into his or her true nature, how can this be proven or shown? This is the meaning of kong-ans and kong-an practice.”17)

“If some monk thought he got enlightenment, a master could test him by presenting him with the story or teaching of another monk’s enlightenment experience. Any monk who truly had some sort of realization would hear the kong-an and instantly understand its true meaning. “18)

There are 10 major kong-ans available to Zen students. ①Does a dog have Buddha-nature? Joju answered, (Joju’s Dog /趙州無字) ②Joju’s “Wash your Bowls.”(趙州洗鉢) ③Seong Am Calls “Master.”(巖喚主人) ④Bodhidharma has No Beard. ⑤Hyang Eom’s “Up a Tree.”(香嚴上樹) ⑥Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. ⑦Ko Bong’s Three Gates(高峰三關). ⑧Dok Sahn Carrying His Bowls. ⑨Nam Cheon Kills a Cat(南泉斬猫). ⑩The Mouse Eats Cat food., and “Three Men Walking.” etc. “If you finish the Ten Gates(10 major kong-ans), you get this as special home-work. And if you pass this, the Zen master checks your center and you can get inka19)

As the above, Seung Shan Zen Master’s Gan-hua Seon is composed of practice and checking with his kong-ans,”Only don’t know!” and so forth. This style is a little different from traditional practice in Gan-hua Seon of Korea. Traditionally, kong-ans(hwa-t’ou) are used to get enlightenment with practice. However, Zen Master, Seung Shan is using them to quest and answer for checking. He applies them in everyday life as conventional methods to get wisdom and to realize right view from moment to moment.

Ⅴ. Conclusion

All the 3 Zen Masters do not insist on Gan-hua Seon only. They are using all the methods for practice such as; Mook-jo Seon practice, reading sutra, invoking mantra, counting breaths and so forth. If some monk said that I solved one Hua-t’ou, the Masters never admitted him to be a realized man. Because they are all stand for gradual enlightenment, rather than sudden enlightenment.

Moreover, the Zen Masters give the big questions and check the answers to their Zen students in the face of them. By using kong-ans, the Masters lead their students to look back on their self-nature, and apply the attainments to everyday life.

Hereby, I’d like to summary the patterns of Gan-hua Seon practice in the US.

First, all the Masters have practiced strongly under their own Buddhist views.

Second, they are emphasizing on the ultimate attainment of practice, not their own methods for practice. Therefore, they are using all kinds of methods to teach their Zen students such as; counting breaths, invoking mantra, reciting buddha’s names, reading sutras, prayer chanting and so forth.

Third, they are stand for gradual enlightenment, not sudden enlightenment for practice. There are 3 stages to get enlightenment. Masters gives kong-ans to the practitioners every stage and checks the answers.

Fourth, the Masters give hua-t’ou to their Zen students for contemplating original self-nature. Not only traditional kong-ans, but also common questions like ‘Who am I?’ are given to them.

Fifth, the Masters give questions to the Zen students and check the answers continuously. Specifically, this is the main method that the Zen Masters teach their students.

Sixth, the Masters teach to the practitioners Zen practice, and also to apply what they have learned or attained to their own everyday lives.

The Zen Masters have found many Zen Centers in the US for themselves to teach their students, and they have already been able to speak English. Furthermore, now they are transmitting Dharma to the native Americans in active.

For long time, the Zen Masters have considered how to teach the American lay-people and finally they got what the Western Zen practitioners want. Even though their methods for teaching are a little different from traditional styles, those are by far the best for the American practitioners, I think.

However, I regret that I haven’t studied how the Zen Masters could overcome the cultural or social gaps between the countries, and teach the foreign people in the face of them directly. And I wonder how their teachings affected to the U.S. society or inspired to every Zen student spiritually. I haven’t looked for any social or environmental effects derived from the Masters’ Zen teachings yet.

If I had an opportunity, I would review all the above and the prospects of Zen Buddhism for the future in the States.

The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue Lewis R. Lancaster In collaboration with Sung-bae Park
University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd.
Copyright (ⓒ 1979 by The Regents of the University of California ISBN 0-520-03159-8
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-40662 Printed in The Republic of South Korea

In the 1960s the monks at Haein Monastery in South Korea undertook the task of making twelve sets of xylographs from the blocks preserved in their buildings. One of these sets was acquired by Dr. Elizabeth Huff, then the Head Librarian of the East Asiatic Library of the University of California at Berkeley. When the more than 1400 volumes had finally all arrived at the Library, it was obvious that the collection would be difficult to use because there were few reference aids and those were mainly listings of titles in sequential order with no connection to the bound volumes. Recognizing the value of such material for scholars, a request was made to the Center for Japanese and Korean Studies at the University for funds to provide for research assistance in the task of cataloging it. Mr. Ronald Epstein, then a graduate student in the University, was the first of the assistants and undertook the examination of the volumes for information contained within them as well as checking the completeness of the set held by the Library. Later, Mr. Sung-bae Park joined the newly established Group in Buddhist Studies as a graduate student and became a research assistant on a second grant from the Center. By 1974 the catalogue had grown from its beginning as an aid to finding titles within the volumes to a more comprehensive description of each work. Mr. Park became a partner in the project and with a group of new assistants the expansion of the scope of the catalogue was undertaken. Ms. Janet Gyatso, a graduate student in the Group in Buddhist Studies, Mr. Kenneth Eastman from the Oriental Languages Department, Ms. Sheila Regan, graduate student in the Group in Asian Studies, Mr. Kurt Schwalbe from the Graduate Theological Union, Mr. Brian Galloway and K. Douglass provided the necessary help for the final stage of compilation and the detailed and often tedious tasks of rechecking the previous work. A number of typists have transferred the information from work cards into manuscript form. Most notable among these have been Mr. Robin Yates and Ms. Katrina McCleod, graduate students in the Department of Oriental Languages. Their careful attention to the details of the content was an essential part of the preparation. Others who have helped at some stage in the project have been Mr. David Schneider, Ms. Mary Brown, Ms. Carolyn Yoshimura, Ms. Beth Upton, Mr. C.S. Kim, Mr. B.K. Woo, and Mr. Carl Bielefeldt.

Without the support of the Center for Japanese and
Korean Studies, the work could hardly have been begun, much less have
assumed the final form. The Directors, Professors Robert Bellah and
Thomas Smith, have during their tenures been supportive and helpful at
every step, and Ms. Julia Cleland, the Administrative Assistant, always
a willing helper with the details of grants and student
assistants. Throughout, Mr. Raymond Tang, now the Head Librarian of the
East Asiatic Library, Mr. Charles Hamilton, Chief Cataloguer, and
Mr. Y.K. Choo, the Korean Cataloguer, have given all possible
assistance.

As the catalogue neared completion, the welcome news
came that Dongguk University was publishing a complete set of the
material in photo-reprint. Under the direction of President S.K. Lee,
that University has made available in 47 volumes the facsimiles of the
xylographs made directly from the blocks. In addition Prof. K.Y. Rhi and
staff compiled a comprehensive catalogue in Korean, which is vol. 48 of
the newly published set. It was a fitting project that a Buddhist
University in Korea marked its 70th Anniversary with a new version of
the canon.

Some three centuries after Buddhism was known to have reached China, there is literary evidence of its presence in the Korean peninsula. The traditional date for the arrival of Buddhism in Korea is A.D. 372;1 however, there was a communication by letter between Chih Tao-lin (A.D. 314-366), an eminent monk of the Eastern Chin dynasty, with an unidentified monk in Korea.2 Since Chih Tao-lin had died prior to the traditional date of introduction, one can assume that the Buddhist monks were already there before A.D. 366.3 On the other hand, considering how powerful Buddhism had become in China by the middle of the fourth century and how important Chinese thought and institutions were to the Koreans, it is difficult to believe that the first encounter with Chinese Buddhism came so late in the century.

Throughout its history, the dissemination of Buddhist
teachings has been closely tied to the scriptures and the translations
of the many texts which constitute it. As the centuries passed for the
Chinese Buddhists, hundreds of texts were translated from Sanskrit into
Chinese and in addition there developed a sizable corpus of literature
composed of the writings of learned and inspired monks and nuns within
China. From this extended collection of material, there occurred a
steady influx of documents into the growing community of Korean
Buddhists from the fourth century onwards. There is no complete record
of this introduction of Buddhist literature, but a few major landmarks
help us to see the quantity of writings which were being
brought into the states established in the Korean peninsula. In the
sixth century a Paekche monk came back from India with a teacher as his
companion, and they brought Sanskrit texts, especially focusing on those
belonging to the Vinaya (rules of conduct for
the monastic community) and Abhidharma
(philosophical and commentarial literature).4 Liu Ssu, an envoy from the Ch’en court,
and Shih Ming-kuan arrived in Korea in A.D. 565, bringing with them a
complete set of the canon in 1700 chüan. This is the earliest recorded date for the
availability of the whole of the Chinese Buddhist translations in
Korea.5 Since the printing blocks of the sort so famous
in later centuries were not yet in use, this material was in the form of
manuscripts. Requiring the efforts of many scribes, complete sets of the
canon were by no means common and it was not until A.D. 928 that the
histories record the arrival of another collection of the
scriptures.6

During the tenth century, the Chinese began to carve
the entire canon onto wooden printing blocks from which large numbers of
xylograph prints could be taken. This first carving in China is said to
have lasted from A.D. 971 to 983.7 Thus after a period
of carving that lasted for twelve years, the Chinese version of the
Buddhist canon became available in the printed form and was known as the
Shu-pen (蜀本) or Szechuan edition of the Sung
dynasty. When the Koreans heard of the existence of this remarkable new
set of texts, the King of Koryŏ sent an official request for a copy of
the edition and two years later the records tell us that it arrived
(A.D. 991).8

Even when a set of blocks had been carved for
printing the scriptures of the Buddhists, they could not provide
complete coverage of a canon that was constantly being enlarged through
the arrival of new texts from India. The catalogues made by the Chinese
monks provide some glimpse of the increasing number of texts that were
available. One catalogue in A.D. 730 mentions 5,048 chüan9 another in A.D. 799 records 5,39010 and in A.D. 1027 the number had
reached 6,197.11 Thus even when
the Sung edition had been carved there were always other texts still
waiting to be collected, translated and carved on blocks. In consequence
Buddhist texts continued to come from China into Korea in what must have
appeared as a never-ending flow of riches. For example, in A.D. 1021
another set of the canon arrived and in A.D. 1022 the Prajñāpāramitā texts translated by the famous
Hsüan-tsang were shipped to Korea.12 These latter texts were quite famous because the
lettering had been done with gold dust.

There were other events in the eleventh century
which were not so happy for the relations between Korea and
China. In A.D. 1010 the Liao forces invaded Korea,13 an example of the threats which were constantly harassing
the people. The shock of this invasion was great and there was an
upheaval at the royal court. When the troops of Sheng-tsung occupied the
capital city, King Hyŏnjong and his attendants sought refuge in the
southern part of the country. In the face of this strong and ruthless
enemy, we are told that the King turned to Buddhism for aid and made a
solemn vow that if the invaders were removed from his country, he would
have the entire Buddhist canon carved on printing blocks.14
After eleven days, the invaders did leave the capital and began a march
northward.15 When life had resumed something of its normal course of
activity, the King, true to his vow, commissioned the first complete set
of Korean carvings of the Buddhist texts. Thus it has been said through
the centuries that the carving of these blocks was done to protect the
nation against invaders and disasters.

Revision of history is ever a popular activity and
in the 1920s Prof. H. Ikeuchi, a Japanese historian, wrote a detailed
account of the process of carving the canonic blocks.16 He was critical of the view that
the blocks had served as a defense for the nation, maintaining instead
that the story had been used to perpetuate a superstitious view of the
project. He laid the blame for this alleged misrepresentation on Yi
Kyu-bo, a member of the court who had offered a prayer during the
ceremony for the second carving project.17 In that prayer, which
has been preserved, it is stated that the first carving project had been
done to protect the nation from invaders. Ikeuchi scoffed at this claim
and maintained it to be a fabrication of Yi Kyu-bo and in no way
factual. If the blocks had served such a purpose, then, Ikeuchi argued,
they would have to have been completed in eleven days, the period during
which the invaders stayed in the capital. Since no such herculean task
was performed, he rejected the whole idea and stated that there was a
very different reason behind the project. The King had been a patron of
efforts to prepare printing blocks long before the invasion took
place. This was not directly related to the safety of the nation but was
inspired by his obsessive interest in the state of his parents’
souls,18 especially since they had been executed for the crime of
having a child before marriage. His first attempt to secure posthumous
merit for them was the construction of Hyŏnhwa Monastery in their
memory. Then, to raise the status of this new monastery, he had
undertaken the additional task of having important sūtras carved on printing blocks.19 Since all of this happened before the
invasion, Ikeuchi concluded that the carving was started and completed not as a project to protect the nation but as a
means of giving merit and benefit to the king’s deceased parents.20

While Ikeuchi’s arguments are detailed and he has
been one of the most thorough students of the literature related to the
canonic blocks, some questions can be raised regarding his
conclusions. Writing in the time when his own country was considered by
most of the populace of Korea to be invaders, it was not surprising that
he was sensitive to the story that the carvings had once served to
defend against invasions. When one reads the prayer of Yi Kyu-bo, there
is no indication that he thought the first carving was completed before
the removal of the danger. Rather, it is implied that the vow was made
by the King to have the carving completed and then the invaders left the
capital.21 Therefore, one might say that the carving was done at a
later time as a thank offering and as a fulfillment of the promise on
the part of the King.

As Ikeuchi points out, there were carving efforts
prior to the invasion. The number of texts which had been put on blocks
was not large in relationship to the total number available because
these earlier attempts had been limited to only the most important
texts. But with the Shu-pen edition as a model,
it is not surprising to find some activity of this kind being carried
out in Korea. The initial impulse of King Hyŏnjong was very probably to
give aid to his parents in their life after death. When the invasion
jolted his kingdom, he then made the decision to have the complete canon
preserved in this fashion. After the peace was agreed upon he made good
his vow but also continued to include his prayers and wishes for the
welfare of his parents. In other words, the initial impetus for the
first carvings under the decree of the King was one of filial piety and
this was present throughout the project. However, the impact of the
national crisis must have been one of the main reasons for considering
the larger and more ambitious project.22

Another possible reason for the carving suggested by
the Korean historians is that of cultural interest.23 The carving and printing of the Buddhist canon was a feat
worthy of the best that the Chinese could produce and so this work went
forward as an outward show of the strength and culture of Koryo
contrasted with the invaders, who appear as little more than
pillagers.

Since the work of carving went on for more than
forty years, we must assume that there was something beyond the danger
of a particular invasion to prompt such an investment of time and
skills. The existence of such a revered object in the nation must have
been a source of pride and have encouraged the people to hope for better
days with the power of their talisman. It may well have
been that the news of the effectiveness of the blocks was spread to
prospective invaders so as to give them pause, since many of them were
also practicing Buddhists.

Thus, for what must have been a complex of reasons,
the carving of the entire set of blocks was undertaken in the first
quarter of the eleventh century and continued for several
decades. Dr. N.C. Paik, a modern Korean scholar, holds to the date of
A.D. 1010 for the starting of the set, but feels that there is no clear
evidence for designating the date of completion.24 Considering the constant increase in the size of the
canon, it is possible that the period of carving was extended as newer
texts were brought in and added to the collection.

Using the Shu-pen as the
basis for the blocks, the Koreans depended on the oldest xylograph
collection. In the eleventh century they were the recipients of the Liao
dynasty edition, which was brought in A.D. 1063.25 In
A.D. 1083 the last complete edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon came
to Korea, also based on the old Shu-pen edition
but including a number of new translations.26

When the canonic material was finally available
through the imprint from these blocks, a different but extremely
important task was begun by one of the famous monks of that
period. Ŭich’ŏn, a younger son of King Munjong, became a monk at the age
of eleven and remained in the monastic life until his death at age
47.27 He was a
monk with great facility in scholarship and possessed the inclinations
of a collector and librarian. So strong was his determination to have
copies of the entire corpus of Buddhist literature, including
commentaries and writings by his contemporaries all over East Asia, that
he made a trip to China even though the King was in opposition to such a
journey. Staying in China for nearly a year, he managed to collect an
impressive array of texts and returned to Korea with more than 3,000chüan.28 He dispatched buyers and collectors to Japan and
other parts of China and as a result brought together what he termed an

“extension”
of the canon, that is the acceptance of texts written by
East Asian Buddhists as a part of the canon. In A.D. 1090 he published
his famous catalogue of this collection with reference to 1,010 titles
in 4,740 chüan29 In recognition of the
importance of these texts, blocks were carved for each of them. When
this supplementary extension of the canonic blocks was completed, it
marked a major new development in the treatment of Buddhist texts, since
these East Asian writings were given the highest possible status. It may
well be that Ŭich’ŏn’s greatest contribution went beyond his role as a
collector and is found in the fact that he considered this literature as
worthy of notice and due a place alongside the
translations from India.

There is one aspect of Ŭich’ŏn’s work that has been
criticized by later scholars. For some reason he decided not to collect
any of the material belonging to the Ch’an (sŏn) school but limited his efforts to the textual
(kyo) schools. Why, ask the historians, did
he show such bias against the works of the meditation school? There is
no direct answer from Ŭich’ŏn’s own writings and we must accept the fact
that he indicates in the very title of the catalogue that he is limiting
his efforts to one aspect of the literature.30

As a result of all these efforts, by the end of the
eleventh century Korea possessed one of the most complete and
comprehensive libraries of Buddhist texts. Not only did they have copies
of these materials but they were able to make xylograph copies for
distribution.

Unfortunately, new troubles arose for the peninsula
and its people.

In A.D. 1231 the Mongols invaded and by A.D. 1232 the King and his court had to take refuge on Kanghwa Island.31 The blocks of the canon and the supplementary extension gathered by Uich’on were housed in the Puin Monastery near Taegu. During the winter after the court had removed from the capital, the invaders took charge of the monastery and in an act of wanton destruction burned the entire set of blocks.32 This may have been in part aimed at convincing the Koreans that they no longer had a sacred protector and it might even have made the invading Mongols feel safer to know that the blocks were no longer in existence.
Hearing of the loss of the blocks, the King made a vow similar to that of King Hyŏnjŏng and plans were made again to put the entire canon on printing blocks. Four years after the fires at Puin Monastery, the work was once again underway to carve a second set of printing blocks. The work went on for fifteen years from A.D. 1236-1251.33 King Kojong in his 38th year of rule gathered with his subjects at the great hall outside the western gate of the Kanghwa capital for a commemoration ceremony.34
It was here that the prayer of Yi Kyu-bo was given which made reference to the events related to the first carving.

This second project was not a recopy of the former
version but was an editorial venture as well. Using the larger and newer
Liao edition along with the older Shu-pen one,
a board of scholars under the guidance of Sugi prepared editions for the
carving.35 In the process of preparing
the list of texts to be placed on the blocks Sugi and his board turned
away from the procedure that had been followed by Ŭich’ŏn. It had been
Ŭich’ŏn who had seen the importance of the non-Indian commentaries and
writings and who had mourned the fact that they were excluded from the
canon. He had feared that many of these works would vanish
due to a lack of any systematic preservation scheme. When he had
gathered as much of this material as possible and had seen it put on
printing blocks, he rejoiced that these writings by the learned monks of
East Asia would now be preserved with vigor equal to that normally
reserved for the translations from Sanskrit. However, when Sugi
undertook the task of collecting and editing the texts for the second
set of carvings, he ignored the catalogue of Ŭich’ŏn and turned to the
traditional catalogues of China. Relying mainly on the K’ai yüan lu36 he omitted the supplementary additions of
Ŭich’ŏn. Just as Ŭich’ŏn feared, many of the texts which he had
collected are no longer extant.

Part of the work on the second set of blocks took
place on Kanghwa Island and some of it was done near Chinju. The project
was a large one, for there were 1,512 titles to be included comprising
6,791 chüan. The editing work was a
masterful job of scholarly effort and in the second set of blocks the
Koreans once again provided the major part of Buddhist texts, to be
found in Chinese, in a readily available form. When finally edited,
corrected and carved, the set of blocks numbered 81,258 plates. Each was
carved on both sides with twenty-three lines of fourteen characters
each. The calligraphy was excellent and the layout such that all the
characters appeared in large size. The blocks measured two feet three
inches in length and nearly ten inches in width and more than an inch in
thickness. A very hard and durable wood from the Betula
schidtii regal tree (known as Paktal in
Korean), gathered on the islands off the coast, was used.

First stored at the gate of Kanghwa Palace, the
blocks were later moved to Sŏnwŏn Monastery on the island and stayed
there for over a hundred years.37 In
A.D. 1398 the security of Kanghwa Island became questionable because of
pirate raids and so the collection was moved to Chijung Monastery near
Seoul.38 It is not known whether this was
ever intended as a permanent home or was just an interim storage until
the blocks could be placed in some safer area. Finally in A.D. 1399 the
last move was started and the blocks were placed at Haein Monastery on
Mount Kaya near Taegu.39 It is here that the monks have protected these
blocks against fire and destruction up to the present day.

Xylographs from these blocks have played a major role
in the modern editions of the Buddhist canon, serving as the basis for
three versions of the canon published in Japan: Shukusatsu zōkyō, printed during the years of
1880-85,40 the Manji zōkyō,
printed 1902-05,41 the Zoku zōkyō42 and the Taisho shinshū daizōkyō, 1924-34.43 Thus our present-day Buddhist studies owe a great debt to the past efforts of Korea, a debt
which is for the most part unrecognized and consequently our study of
Korean Buddhism is neglected.

For many years little was known about these blocks
outside of Korea; and even within the country, during the Yi dynasty
when Buddhism had been suppressed, there was a lack of attention from
the court or government officials. At the beginning of this century some
reports about the blocks began to appear in Japanese publications,44 the most detailed being those of Mr. Sekina, an
architect.45 Today the
collection is recognized by the government as well as the people of
Korea as one of the priceless treasures and a heritage of the skill and
expertise of the past. It is housed in two large buildings which are
integrated into the monastic complex at Haein. The storage buildings are
built so there is free circulation of air through open grilles and the
blocks are racked in separate niches extending the whole length of the
buildings and reaching from floor to ceiling. Recently a new
ferro-concrete structure has been erected for the purpose of preserving
the blocks, and they will no longer be found in their current
location. In those instances where a block from the original set was
found to be missing or damaged, new replacements were carved some fifty
years ago. Visitors are allowed to see the blocks and Haein Monastery
has become an important tourist attraction, while still maintaining its
place as a major training center for Korean Buddhism.

It is to be hoped that this catalogue will allow
scholars to make use of this version of the Buddhist canon and restore
it to its rightful place as a primary source for the study of the
Chinese Buddhist tradition as well as that of Korea.

While this catalogue has been designed to provide information regarding the Haein Monastery xylograph collection, it can also be of use to scholars wishing information regarding the Sanskrit and Tibetan texts. It is the intent of the compilers to give enough data for each title so that the catalogue will serve as an independent reference work not requiring further access to library resources for identifications of texts.

The comparative and descriptive information appears
in the following order:

***K = the sequential number assigned to the texts as they occur in the volumes described above. In those cases where the catalogue contained in the set, the Taejang mongnok (大藏目録), indicates that the title is a secondary entry, lower case letters have been added to the K number rather than adding a new number.

***Volume = the Volume or volumes of the xylograph print of the Haein Monastery held by the East Asiatic Library of the University of California.

***(Roman numerals) = Volume and page for photo-reprint of the Haein xylographs published by Dongguk University (1976) in 48 volumes.

***T. = the matching number used in the Taishō shinshū daizōkyō edition.

***H. = the matching number used for the modern Korean
translations recorded in the Han’gul taejanggyong
kanhaeng mongnok. While this collection of the
translations is far from complete, the projected numbers for future ones
are included. In those cases where the translation publication is still
pending the reference under (3) will contain the projected volume number without page reference following the
entry HDJK.

***(Sanskrit Title) = the best known Sanskrit title for
the text. When a published edition is available or extant manuscripts
are known, the reference will appear under (5). When the text is missing
in Sanskrit but the title appears in some source, then (5) provides an
appropriate lexigraphical note. If there is no extant Sanskrit, but
there is a Tibetan translation as indicated by (6), it can be assumed
that the Sanskrit title has been taken from the introduction to those
Tibetan translations. When neither Sanskrit (5) nor Tibetan (6)
reference is available, the titles have been constructed from the
Chinese translations. This latter category is used only when such
constructed titles have been used in reference works. In many instances
the Sanskrit title is not known and this entry is left open.

***(Names) = in those cases where authors of texts are known from the Chinese, Tibetan or Sanskrit, they appear following the title of the text.

***(Tibetan Title) = the Tibetan title for the text as recorded in the Sde-dge version of the canon.

***(Chinese Title) = romanized title for the Chinese characters following the Wade-Giles system.

***(Characters) = the Chinese character title as found on the plates of the Haein Monastery collection.

***(Han’gul Title) = the Han’gul equivalent pronunciations for the characters. The traditional Buddhist pronunciations have at times been employed so as to be in accord with the Han’gul translations listed under H. and (3) HDJK.

*** Translation, etc. = information regarding the translation into Chinese. The translator names are given, whenever possible, in the Sanskrit form for non-Chinese. There is a cross reference provided in the
“Author-Translator Index”
between the Chinese form of the name and the one used in the catalogue entry. The dates are given for the translation, first by dynasty and reign years and then by conversion into Western calendar months and years. At the end of this section there is information regarding the monastery in which the translation took place or the region if known.

(1) = other versions of the same text to be found in the Haein Monastery collection.

[ * ] = the sequential number of a work appearing in a compilation containing a number of individual texts that may also appear as separate items.

[ ] = reference to chapters within a text.

( ) = reference to foreign lang=”zh”>chüan within a text.

(2) = information regarding the Haein Monastery blocks.

“case”
= the characters used to divide the
original set of blocks into units. Here the characters are those found in
the well known
“Thousand Character”
scheme. Using these
“case
characters”
it is possible to locate titles in any version of the Haein
set.

“carved”
= the year given for the carving of the
blocks on which the text is to be found.

(3) = reference to other versions of the Korean canon and to its translations.

KDJK = the volume and pages in the Koryo-dae-jang-kyong, the photo-reprint edition of the
Haein xylographs.

HDJK= the volume of the Hanguk-dae-jang-kyong, the modern translation into
Korean. When the translation has not yet appeared the projected volume number appears without page reference. The
sequential number for these translations appears under the entry
H. above.

(4) = a comparative listing of references in other catalogues

Nj. = the listing of the number for the text in
the Catalogue of the Chinese Translations of the
Buddhist Tripitaka compiled by B. Nanjio.

To. = the listing of the number for the text in
the Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist
Canon edited by H. Ui and others at Tohoku University.

O. = the listing of the number for the text in
the Comparative Analytical Catalogue of the Kanjur
Division of the Tibetan Tripitaka at Ōtani University.

P. = the listing of the number for the text in
the Tibetan Tripitaka, Peking Edition, edited
by D.T. Suzuki. It should be noted that 0. and P.’numbers are identical
since they both refer to the Peking Edition and in this section P. is
not given when O. is available.

Mvy. = the listing of the number for the text in
the Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary of Buddhist Technical
Terms based on the Mahāvyutpatti, edited by U. Woghihara.

(5) = Sanskrit information.

(a) Editor’s name if there is a printed version,
followed by the year of the edition. Since this catalogue is not
intended as a bibliography, the full reference is not given but the
“Bibliography of Buddhist Scriptures” by Edward Conze soon to be
published is an easy source for the exact designation of these published
versions. This entry is only intended to establish the existence of the
Sanskrit in edited form or in extant manuscripts.

(b) When only the title of the Sanskrit is to be
found, lexiographical data regarding its appearance is listed.

(c) Whenever there are alternate Sanskrit titles,
they will be given under this heading.

(d) Tibetan information regarding the Sanskrit
title may also appeal-under (5). It should be noted that such words asĀrya preceding the title or the expressionnāmamahayānā before the word sūtra are omitted.

(6) = Tibetan information.

This entry establishes the existence of a Tibetan translation and provides a comparative table for five versions of the Tibetan canon, listing the section followed by the volume letter and folio numbers.

Is Celibacy Anachronistic? : Korean Debates over the Secularization of Buddhism during the Japanese Occupation PeriodRobert E. Buswell Jr.(University of California, Los Angeles)

Of all the wrenching debates taking place in contemporary Buddhist circles, including in Korea, perhaps none has been more fraught with controversy than that over sexuality in the context of Buddhist practice. While Buddhism has always permitted the laity to marry and to raise families, this was not typically the case for religious specialists in most of its various Asian traditions. Celibacy is the first of the Pārājika offenses for both bhiks.us and bhikṣuṇī s, the transgression of which would lead at least to estrangement (if not permanent expulsion) from the order. Celibacy is therefore the principal standard that has distinguished the ordained monk or nun from the lay Buddhist. Soon after its institutionalization, however, Buddhism began to struggle with the issue of precisely how literal monks and nuns should be in interpreting the strictures the Buddha had placed on their way of life, including celibacy. Traditional accounts, as for example in the Mahāparinibbānasuttanta, tell us that shortly before his death the Buddha informs his attendant A – nanda that he would permit the monks to ignore the“ lesser and minor precepts,”without unfortunately specifying precisely which precepts those were.1) The catalyst for convening the first council of arhats was the permissiveness that was beginning to appear among some monastic factions immediately following the Buddha’s death, permissiveness epitomized in Subhadra’s statement of relief over the Buddha’s passing:“ Now we shall be able to do whatever we like; and what we do not like, that we shall not have to do!”2)“whatever we like,”here, explicitly implying sex. The first schism within the order, which occurred a century or so after the Buddha’s demise, also stemmed from putatively lax readings of the precepts, specifically the Vr.jiputraka monks’acceptance of gold and silver.3)

This tension between conservative readings of the monastic precepts and more liberal interpretations has continued down into the modern era. Now, however, many of the arguments are framed in terms of “relevancy,”especially how to make a monastically-based religion like Buddhism attractive in a modern secular society. Some reformists have even gone so far as to advocate that for Buddhism to be successful in the contemporary world, its clergy must be allowed to marry. Indeed, arguments proffered in favor of clergy marriage for Buddhists are remarkably akin to those articulated in the West by some contemporary Catholics, who are also struggling to address this issue of the social relevance of a celibate clergy.

But such contemporary concerns over Buddhism’s relevance to society and arguments favoring the abandonment of celibacy are not new to the religion. I would like to explore in this paper a period in Korean Buddhist history when rapid modernization was vehemently advocated and, in conjunction with that modernization, the advisability of clergy marriage examined within the tradition. This is the period bracketing the time of the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea between 1910 and 1945. Korea was then being forced to open its doors to the outside world and the country was affected for the first time by such non-Sinitic influences as Western liberalism. These new ideas had a strong impact in Korea, creating within Buddhist circles a great deal of soul-searching (if, indeed, that word be appropriate in a Buddhist context!). Many intellectuals within the Korean Buddhist church believed that their religion would have to adapt to these new influences if it hoped to maintain any place for itself within the rapidly changing parameters of modern industrialized society. These men actively began to question many of the most fundamental aspects of Buddhism, including the institution of celibacy. But this debate over celibacy must be treated as part and parcel of the Buddhist reform movements of that age, and only by examining that debate within this wider context can its true significance be understood. Exploring these reform movements in somedetail may therefore provide some interesting insights on how one of the Asian monastic orders evaluated possible alternatives to celibacy. While the political exigencies of Japanese colonialism ultimately led contemporary Koreans to reject the viabilityof clergy marriage, the debate over the advisability of celibacy continues to be a burning question even today in Korea. The problem of celibacy also raises wider questions: What type of relationship should pertain between the clergy and laity? What value is there is differentiating the clergy’s way of life from that of the laity? What possibilities are there for the laity to aspire to the higher religious aspirations of the clergy? Such questions will also be addressed in the Korean debates over celibacy.4)

4) Some portions of this paper are expansions of material that appeared previously in my book The Zen Monastic Experience: Buddhist Practice in Contemporary Korea (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).

Buddhism’s Place is in Pre-Modern Korea

Buddhism provided the foundation for Korean national ideology throughout much of the ancient and medieval periods. Since virtually the inception of the tradition on the peninsula, Buddhism was one of the principal forces catalyzing social and technological change. Along with their new religion, its missionaries introduced a wide cross-section of Sinitic culture and thought, including the Chinese writing system, calendrics, and architecture. Buddhist spiritual technologies as well were considered to offer powers far superior to those of indigenous shaman- ism. For all these reasons, Buddhism became an integral part of the religio-political nexus of Korea during the medieval period.

During the Unified Silla (668-935) and Koryô (937-1392) dynasties, Buddhism functioned as a virtual state religion. Buddhism received munificent material and political support from the royal court, and in exchange interceded with the buddhas and bodhisattvas on behalf of the nation’s welfare. The Buddhist presence was ubiquitous throughout the country, exerting its hold over the nation with an extensive network of both mountain monasteries and city temples. During the Koryô dynasty, for example, the head monasteries of both of the two major branches of the tradition–the doctrinal schools of Kyo and the meditative traditions of Sôn–were based in the capital of Kaesông and thousands of monks pursued their vocations in these urban enclaves. Monasteries were awarded vast tracts of paddy and forest lands, which were worked by armies of slaves and serfs awarded to the monasteries. Monasteries also pursued such commercial enterprises as noodle making, tea production, and distillation of spirits. The financial power of the monasteries was so immense that it severely strained the fabric of the Koryô economy, contributing to the demise of that kingdom and the rise of the Chosôn dynasty.

Buddhism’s close affiliation with the vanquished Koryôrulers brought it much suffering during the years of Confucian persecution under the Chosôn dynasty (1392-1910). The Neo-Confucian orientation of the Chosôn rulers upset the old ideological status quo in which Buddhism predominated. While considerable controls over monastic vocations and conduct had already been instituted during the Koryô period, these pale next to the severe restrictions promulgated during the Chosôn dynasty. The number of monks was severely restricted–and at times a complete ban on ordination instituted–and monks were prohibited from entering the metropolitan areas. Hundreds of monasteries were disestablished (the number of monasteriesdropping to 242 during the reign of T’aejong [r. 1401- 1418]) and new construction was forbidden in the cities and villages of Korea. Monastic land holdings and temple slaves were confiscated by the governmentin 1406, undermining the economic viability of many monasteries. The vast power that Buddhists had wielded during the Silla and Koryôdynasties was now exerted by Confucians. Buddhism was kept virtually quarantined in the countryside, isolated from most involvement in the intellectual debates of the times. Its adherents were more commonly the illiterate peasants of the countryside and women, rather than the educated male elite of the cities, as had been the case in times past. While traditional monastic training continued in its mountain centers, Buddhism had become a relatively minor social force in Korea.

Pressures on Korean Buddhism during the Japanese Colonial Period

Foreign pressures on the late-Chosôn court brought the first real break in this state of affairs. Japanese suzerainty over Korea, which began in 1897 with the appointment of a Japanese adviser to the Chosôn-dynasty throne and became formalized in 1910 with the official annexation of Korea, initially worked to the advantage of Buddhism. Japan was, after all, a Buddhist country, and its advisers served as strong advocates for the religion in the moribund Korean court. One of the most noteworthy results of Japanese intervention involved thelifting of the centuries-long restriction on monks entering the capital of Seoul. Since the fifteenth century, Buddhist monks had been periodically prohibited from entering the capital, a restriction made permanent in 1623. Such measures were intended to isolate Buddhism in the countryside and keep it far removed from the centers of political power. It was not until 1895, during the final years of the Chosôn dynasty, that this restriction was finally lifted. It took the intercession of the Japanese Nichiren monk Sano Zenrei (b. 1858) to convince King Kojong to make this proclamation. Sano considered Korean Buddhism to be extremely weak and the monks unlearned, with little faith in their religious ideology or meditative techniques. Given this weakened condition, Sano felt that such a show of good will toward the Korean monks might be enough to convince them to shift their allegiance to Japanese Buddhism, and specifically the Nichiren sect, thereby unifying Korean Buddhists under the Japanese banner.5)

Indeed, Sano’s efforts to get this restriction removed were said to have been greeted enthusiastically by many Korean monks, though they were not enough to convince Koreans to embrace the Nichiren school.6) The Chosôn court continued to vacillate, however, over whether to honor their commitment to Sano, and it was not until 1904 that all government controls on Buddhism halted, marking the official end of the Choson policy of suppression.

As Sano’s case shows, Japanese interest in Korean Buddhism was hardly benign, and the Japanese ascendancyin Korea during the first half of the twentieth century brought new challenges to the traditional Korean worldview. Waves of Japanese Buddhist missionaries came to proselytize in Korea and made considerable inroads within indigenous Buddhist circles. Because several of the most successful missionary schools–such as Nichiren, Jo – do shinshu – , and the O-tani school of the Highashi Honganji sect of Japanese Pure Land–had no real analogues in Korea, they challenged many of the fundamental teachings and practices of the native Buddhist tradition. There have been few instances in Asian history (with the possible exception of medieval Southeast Asia) where one Buddhist country, with its own deep-seated indigenous traditions, has been colonized by another. Rarer still has it been for the conquerors to have imposed their own tradition on the vanquished. But this is precisely what happened in Korea during the Japanese occupation. Korean monks in the present age continue to react to the legacy of this forced occupation.7)

Japanese motives in introducing their own forms of Buddhism into Korea were not always as sinister as Korean nativistic scholarship would lead us to believe. True, the Japanese colonial administration did see religion, and especially Buddhism, as a tool of government policy, much as Buddhism had been exploited by the military government in Japan during the Meiji Restoration. Missionaries from such Japanese Buddhist sects as the Nichiren Sho – shu – and Jo – do shinshu – lobbied to be allowed to proselytize in Korea. While such missionary activities began in the Japanese expatriate enclaves, the Japanese colonial administration subsequently encouraged missionaries to extend their activities into Korean communities as well, as a means of exerting ideological control over the native populace. Periodic attempts were even made to force Korean Buddhism to merge with one or another Japanese sects, moves that would have obliterated the independent identity of the indigenous church. To the Koreans, the most notorious of these attempts was an agreement reached in October 1910 by Yi Hoegwang (1840-after 1925) of the new Wônjong (Consummate School) to merge Korean Buddhism into the Japanese So – to – school, the Zen school whose“ gradualist”ideology, the Koreans protested, had the least affinities with the putative“ subitism”of traditional Korean Buddhism. While this merger was soon scuttled, it nevertheless attests to the seriousness of these new political pressures the Japanese exerted on Korean Buddhism. But we also cannot deny the altruism of some Japanese missionaries, who were sincerely concernedwith rehabilitating Buddhism after its long suppression by the dominant Neo-Confucian ideologues of the Chosôn dynasty.

The Japanese colonial administration also intervened directly in Korean Buddhist affairs, intervention that had in fact begun soon after the Japanese annexation of Korea. Governor-General Terauchi Masatake promulgated a series of measures in November, 1906, that began to place regulations on Korean Buddhism similar to those placed on Japanese Buddhism during the Meiji Restoration.8) Finally, the Korean Monastery Law (jisatsurei Kor. sach’allyông) of June 3, 1911, formalized direct Japanese supervision of Buddhist temples and in 1912 established a new, centralized system of government control, in which the abbots of thirty (later thirty-one) head monasteries (ponsan), all licensed and confirmed by the Japanese government, controlled a large number of smaller branch temples (malsa).9)Such central control of the tradition had several deleterious effects, which linger into the contemporary period. The groupings of head and branch monasteries created by the Japanese were often arbitrary and based purely on administrative convenience. The branch temples occasionally belonged to different monastic lineages from the main monasteries, and in some cases had been bitter rivals with their larger and more powerful neighbors. This centralized structure also fostered authoritarianism and corruption within the order. In the last half of the Chosôn dynasty, individual monasteries had enjoyed all but complete autonomy in choosing their abbot and officers, deciding their practice schedule, and in making financial decisions. With such decisions now subject to veto at the national level, deep-seated resentment was created toward the centralized Buddhist administration. This system also increased considerably the power of the abbot, leading to near-tyranny in a few cases.10) A similar centralized administrative structure remains in place within the Chogye order today, generating similar types of tension.

8) For the Meiji persecution of Buddhism, see James Edward Ketelaar, Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan: Buddhism and its Persecution (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990).9) For the list, see Kang Su – kchu and Pak Kyônggu – n, Pulgyo kônse paengnyôn, pp. 56-57. In 1924, these ponsan became thirty-one with the addition of Hwaomsa to the list. 10) See some of the examples cited in Kang Sôkchu and Pak Kyônggu – n, Pulgyo konse paengnyon, p. 85.

Buddhist Modernization Movements

Japanese and Western imperialist pressures forced Korea–and eventually Korean Buddhists–to become more cognizant of outside forces, leading to a burgeoning modernization movement within the religion during the decades bracketing the Japanese annexation of Korea. Korean Buddhists were abruptly aroused from their long isolationist slumber and forced to begin a wrenching process of self-examination. How had their tradition arrived at its present dire straits? How might it be restored to its former glory? Calls for secularization became increasingly strident: if Korean Buddhism were to survive in the modern world, it would have to adapt–an application, the monks claimed, of the Buddhist doctrine of skill in means (upa – ya) to the changing circumstances of the contemporary scene.Korean Buddhist reform movements during this period can be divided into two major types. First were more conservative movements, which sought torevitalize traditional forms of Korean Buddhist thought and practice. Second were the more progressive movements, which sought to introduce innovations that would make the religion more responsive to the needs of modern life. Many of the most radical reforms, especially the call that monks be allowed to marry, were first prompted by Korean contacts with Buddhism in Japan. But once the ecclesiastical institutions established by the Japanese colonial government tried to impose similar reforms on Korean Buddhism, nationalistic pride rejected mostsuch measures and the reforms were doomed. Many Korean Buddhists instead turned stridently conservative, seeking to root out all progressive elements within the order. To show their defiance toward“ secularized”Buddhism, now identified with the Japanese oppressors, Koreans sought instead to restore their old traditions from the putative Golden Age of the Unified Silla and Koryôperiods. Several of the most liberal reformers at the time of the transition to Japanese rule would eventually become leaders of the conservative faction, which would become dominant after the March First independence movement. This rift between“ liberal”Japanese toadyism and“ conservative”Korean nationalism became intractable, creating severe tensions that persist into the modern period.

Conservative Reform Movements

The leaders of the conservative movement included several of the most renowned monks of the age. Song Kyônghô (1849-1912) sought to recreate the late-Koryô Imje (Ch. Linji) style of Sôn cultivation by restoring the technique of kanhwa Sôn (the Chan of observing the keyword), or ko – an Zen, to supreme place in Korean Buddhist praxis. Paek Hangmyông (1867-1929) started a rural, agriculturally based religious movement, in which So – n practice was to be carried out in conjunction with field work. Paek’s ideology was based on the prototypic Sôn injunction of“ no work, no food,”perhaps reflecting in its Korean form influence as well from the rural utopias envisioned in the Sirhak (Practical Learning) school of the disenfranchised Confucian literati.But perhaps the most important, and certainly the most traditional, of the conservative reformers was Paek Yongsông (1864-1940). Ordained at Haeinsa under Hwawôl sônsa at the age of nineteen, Yongsông was a strong advocate of Sôn Buddhism, and practiced together with Hyewôl and Man’gong, two of the more iconoclastic figures in turn-of-the-century Korean Buddhism. Yongsông was a participant in the Independence movement of 1919, along with Han Yongun, to whom we shall turn later. During his year and a half in prison, he translated many su – tras (such as the voluminous Hwaômgyông) from literary Chinese into han’gu – l, the Korean vernacular script, in order to make more texts accessible to ordinary people.

Yongsông belittled the thrust of many of the institutional reforms proposed by progressive figures, such as moving monasteries into the cities, as we shall see below. Although improvements in Buddhist administration might be useful in strengthening the institutions of Buddhism, they would have little effect on the overall health of the religion, he argued. Only by restoring the practice tradition–which for Yongsông meant kanhwa Sôn–could Buddhism have any hope of becoming a viable religious force; and unless it could reestablish itself as a religious power, there was no hope of Buddhism having any impact on Korean society.Yongsông was a strong advocate of the traditional celibate lifestyle of the monks–to the point that in 1926 he wrote a memorial to the Japanese governor-general entitled“ Prohibit the Lifestyle of Breaking the Precepts” (Pômgye saenghwal ku – mji). Because of his interest in ensuring the continuance of the bhiks.u and bhiks.un.¦¯ traditions, he personally established many ordination platforms and transmitted the complete monastic precepts (kujokkye) several times during his career.11) His ideal lifestyle, like that of Paek Hangmyông, was one in which Sôn practice and agriculture would be combined. He lived out this ideal at his hermitage on Paegun Mountain, where he planted over 10,000 persimmon and chestnut trees, which he and his monks tended.Yongsông led the attack on Christianity, with numerous tracts clarifying the Buddhist message and demonstrating its superiority to that alien Western religion. Yongsông noted that while he was living in Seoul, he had witnessed the extraordinary successes Christian missionaries were having in converting Koreans, while the Buddhist p’ogyodang (missionary centers) were all but empty.12) As a way of distinguishing the goals of Buddhism from those of Christianity, Yongsông advocated changing the name of Buddhism to the“ Religion of Great Enlightenment”(Taegakkyo), since religious awakening was its unique feature. Yongsông’s Kuwôn chôngjong(The Orthodox School that Returns to the Fountainhead) was a tract written comparing Buddhism to Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity, a modern twist on the old“ three teachings”syncretism of medieval East Asian philosophy. While Confucianism presented a complete moral doctrine, Yongsông argued, it was deficient in transcendental teachings. Daoism was deficient in moral teachings but half-understood transcendental teaching. Christianity was fairly close to the Buddhist ch’ôn’gyo“( Teachings of [humans] and gods”), which taught the kinds of meritorious actions that would lead to rebirth in heavenly realms; it was, however, completely ignorant of the transcendental teaching. Only Buddhism, Yongsông concluded, presented all facets of both moral and transcendental teachings.13)Bridging the conservative and progressive factions was Pak Hanyong (1870-1948), a leading theorist of the reformist movement. Hanyong downplayed the importance of Sôn alone in Korea, a stand advocated by many of the conservative leaders, and stressed instead the twin foci of Sôn meditation practice and Kyo doctrinal study, an approach emblematic of Korean Buddhism since the Koryô. Based on this fusion of traditional Buddhist elements, Buddhists must then begin to modernize their religion by expanding their knowledge of science and technology and by introducing Western cultural values into Buddhism.Pak saw hope for the Buddhism of his era. Three-Kingdoms Buddhism, he said, was the era of Buddhist expansion, Koryô the era of prosperity, 11) Han Chongman“, Usin sasang,”p. 1130.12) See source cited in Han Chongman“, Usin sasang,”p. 1127 n. 28. 13) Han Chongman,“ Usin sasang,”p. 1128-1129. Compare the Buddhist response to Christianity in Sri Lanka, as discussed in Kitsiri Malalgoda, Buddhism in Sinhalese Society 1750-1900: A Study of Religious Revival and Change(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976), pp. 191-255.

and the Chosôn dynasty the era of degeneration. It was during the present age, however, that Buddhism would be restored.14) Five reforms in the personal character of Buddhists were necessary before this reformation of the religion could occur: 1) abandon pride and study extensively, while emptying the mind; 2) abandon laziness and practice ferociously; 3) abandon self-action and engage in actions that will benefit others; 4) abandon niggardliness and develop charity, giving both materially and spiritually; 5) abandon self-satisfaction and develop a mind that likes constantly to question and learn.15) To realize these aims, he devoted himself to the education of Buddhist youth, serving for many years as the main lecturer at the Buddhist Central Seminary (Pulgyo Chungang Hangnim).

Han Yongun and the Progressive Reformers

But it was the progressive reformers who would have the greatest effect on the subsequent history of Korean Buddhism. Most prominent among these crucial figures were Han Yongun (1879-1944), also known by the sobriquet Manhae, and Pak Chungbin (1894-1943), sobriquet Sot’aesan. The works of these two figures reveal the forces unleashed in Korea by the political upheaval accompanying the decay of the Chosôn dynasty: first the Tonghak movement of 1896-1897 and the Japanese occupation of Korea. For our purposes here, I will focus on Han Yongun.

Han Yongun, monk, social and religious reformer, renowned poet (he authored Nim u-i chimmuk,“ Silence of the Beloved,”one of the first modern poems in vernacular Korean), influential magazine editor, and translator, is best known in Korea as one of the thirty-three leaders of the March First Movement (Samil Undong), the independence movement from Japanese rule that occurred in 1919.16) While still in his teens, Yongun had participated in the Tonghak (Eastern Learning) Rebellion during the last decade of the nineteenth century, which sought to purge Western influences from Korean society and restore native Korean values. Looking back into his country’s own traditions led Yongun to Buddhism, and in 1905, at the age of twenty-seven, he ordained as a monk at Paektamsa on Sôrak Mountain. Profoundly influenced by the important Chinese reformer Liang Qichao’s writings on the West, he went to Vladivostok in 1905-1906 in an unsuccessful attempt to travel to the United States via Siberia and Europe. In 1908, Yongun was however able to travel to Japan, where he was amazed by the conciliation he found there between traditional forms of Buddhism and modern technological culture.Profoundly affected by his overseas experiences and distressed at what he considered the degenerate state of his own tradition of Buddhism–poor

learning, little meditation training, and lax observance of precepts–Yongun called on Korean Buddhism to evolve along what he termed modern, scientific lines, while still drawing from its wellspring in Asian spiritual culture.To express his vision of such a contemporary form of Buddhism, Yongun wrote in 1910 a treatise calling for what were at the time radical changes in the Korean tradition. This tract is his seminal Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon (Treatise on the Reformation of Korean Buddhism),17)One of the first attempts by a Korean to explores ways in which Western liberalism might be applied in a Korean context. Yongun saw the world in melioristic terms, as in a continualstate of evolution that would culminate ultimately in an ideal civilization. He considered that the tide of reform then sweeping the world in science, politics, and religion would leave Korea, and specifically Korean Buddhism, behind if it did not learn to respond to these changes. To survive, Koreans must transform their nation from a static, tradition-bound country into a dynamic society at the forefront of this tide.Later arrested and imprisoned for his participation in the March First Movement, Yongun became an outspoken proponent of Korean independence. While elderly Buddhist monks isolated in the mountains might be ignorant of this need for reform, Yongun says, younger monks were aware of it and would have to initiate and sustain reform.18) Hence,

17) Han Yongun, Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon (Treatise on the Reformation of Korean Buddhism), Yi Wônsôp, ed. and trans. (Seoul: Manhae Sasang Yôn’guhoe, 1983). In these notes, I will cite the photolithographic reprint of Yongun’s original Sino-Korean text included as the appendix to this edition.

Buddhist youth movements independent of monastic control were strongly supported by Yongun and other reformers during this period, as the only way of ensuring that younger Buddhists did not fall into the same habits that had ossified their seniors. A series of such youth organizations were established during the occupation period: the Buddhist Youth Association in 1920, Buddhist Reformation Association in 1922, and General League of Buddhist Youth in 1931. Yongun’s analysis produced something of a generation gap within the order between conservative senior monks and liberal junior monks, a gap that has reappeared in the contemporary Chogye order.In his “Essay on the Ideologies of Buddhism”(Non Pulgyo chi chuu – i) from his Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon,19) Yongun explains that all the various teachings of Buddhism can be broadly divided into two categories: an egalitarian “ideology of equality”(p’yôngdu – ng chuu – i), and a salvific “ideology of saving the world”(kuse chuu – i). Buddhism was founded upon the ideal of egalitarianism: from the standpoint of absolute truth, all the inequalities of the world could be seen as in fact equal. This interpretation of equality springs from the Hwaôm/Huayan notion of the unimpeded interpenetration pertaining between all phenomena in the universe (sasa muae/shishi wuai), in which each thing creates, and is in turn created by, every other thing. Such a vision of symbiotic interrelatedness could provide a Buddhistic foundation forworld peace

and universal equality between individuals, races, nations, and continents.20)

This Buddhistic notion of equality could develop as well into the modern political doctrines of freedom and universalism, because it is opposed to looking at things from the standpoint of the individual or the nation; it could also lead to self-determination, because nations would see that it was wrong to enforce their own political will on other countries. While egalitarianism may be the essence of truth, that truthfunctioned through the intent to“ save the world.”This salvific aspect, the second major division of Buddhist ideology according to Yongun, must come into play if freedom and peace were to be achieved. Soteriology is the opposite of egoistic, self-serving action; it instead is motivated by the great compassion of Buddhism, creating a sense of mutual dependence and cooperation between all beings.21) As long as Buddhist modernization was driven by these two principles, it could accommodate such Western ideals as democratization while maintaining its basis in indigenous Korean culture.

In order for these principles to be useful in the reformation of Buddhism and Korean society, however, the religion would have to be brought out of the mountains and into thelives of ordinary Koreans in the villages and cities. Because Buddhism had been forced into mountain exile during the Chosôn dynasty, monks were ignorant of the changing conditions in the

world and incapable of reacting intelligently to those new situations. Monks were unwilling to take risks and had become unconscionably diffident. This diffidence sapped Buddhism of the competitive spirit necessary for continued evolution, causing the religion to degenerate. And finally, due to this degeneration, the ideology and practice of monks had declined, affecting all aspects of the tradition, from monastic education and proselytization, to the organizational structure of the order and financial management.22) If Buddhism was to survive, it was necessary to reestablish ties with lay society and begin working anew toward the salvation of all beings. Such a mass movement, based on Buddhist principles, would help to democratize society and thereby strengthen the institutions of government, education, and religion.To mitigate against the deleterious effects of their long, enforced isolation, Yongun proposed a radical migration of Buddhist monasteries from the mountains to the cities.23) He proposed three different plans. First, a few of the most important mountain monasteries might be left unchanged as pilgrimage sites, Yongun proposed, but the rest should be moved to local districts and villages. Alternatively, all the large monasteries might be left as they were, but the smaller temples moved into the cities. Or finally, small hermitages and temples might be demolished and merged with nearby monasteries; those merged monasteries would then establish p’ogyodangs (missionary centers) in the nearby villages.24)Radical reforms in the Buddhist institutions of Korea werealso necessary

to create more direct contacts between monks and laity. While Buddhism may have become inept in responding to the needs of society during the Chosôn dynasty, this did not mean that the religion was irrelevant to lay Koreans. The goal of Buddhism was to bring awakening to each individual, and to do this Buddhism had to be in constant contact with the people through missionary activities. This drive for relevancy should occur along two fronts: first, popularizing Buddhist rituals and scriptures, so that people could more easily understand the tenets of the religion; and second, rationalizing Buddhist ecclesiastical ceremonies andeconomic assets.25) Simplification was the watchword in both these areas. The puzzling array of deities and beings then worshipped in Korean monasteries, including the arhats, pratyekabuddhas, the seven stars of the Big Dipper, and the dharma protectors, should be reduced to one–the Buddha S´ a – kyamuni.26) Formal ceremonies should be simplified so that they would be more accessible and comprehensible to the laity.27)But the major obstacle to the relevancy of Buddhism in modern, market-driven political economies was financial: the economic dependency of monks and monasteries on the laity was a drain on the resources of the nation.28) Monks must learn to contribute to the economy by forming temple agricultural cooperatives devoted to the cultivation of fruit, mulberry trees (for silk), tea, and chestnuts. If monasteries were selfsupporting, two benefits would be forthcoming: first, better use of forest products and other natural resources; and second, increased productivity among the monks and ultimately among the entire workforce. Yongun also proposed organs that would distribute the proceeds coming from monastic enterprises to the needy in society. Such enterprises would enhance the functioning of Buddhist compassion within society, rather than encouraging the monks to remain parasitic on the laity, as he claimed had been common theretofore.29)

But even if such moves created a salutary Buddhist presence in the cities, the interests of the religion would not be served if monks were unable to communicate with the laity. Yongun saw the success Christian missionaries were having in Korea and advocated that monks too must be familiar with modern civilization if they were to duplicate Christian successes in proselytization. Clearly vast improvements in monastic education were necessary. The monastic curriculum emphasizing the study of literary Chinese was clearly out of date, and Yongun advocated new textbooks for doctrinal training and improved teaching methods.Yongun proposed that between the ages of fifteen and forty, Buddhist monks should complete an uniform, nationally sanctioned, curriculum.

First monks should study worldly subjects like science, technology, and civics, so that they would become fluent in the knowledge common to ordinary people. Next, they should turn to Buddhist subjects, so that they would become fluent exponents of their own religion. Finally, they should study overseas so as to understand foreign cultures and to expand their intellectual horizons.30) Only with such wide-ranging knowledge could monks hope to be truly capable missionaries, who would have any chance of expressing a vision of modernity that was authentically Buddhistic.

But along with reforms in doctrinal instruction, the approach to Sôn meditation needed also to be standardized and its presentation systematized so that it could be learned, and taught, more easily to both monks and lay persons. Centers of Sôn training were too scattered and the training offered too inconsistent in quality. Yongun advocated that one or two large halls be opened under the guidance of the best Sôn masters. All monks, even those in support positions in the monasteries, should be expected to sit for one or two hours daily. Such a move, a major departure from traditional monastic practice where meditation monks were kept isolated from much of the rest of the monastery, would establish an egalitarian attitude within the monasteries by breaking down the division in the ecclesiastical organization between support and practice monks. Finally, Yongun advocated closing yômbultangs, or halls devoted to the recitation of the Buddha’s name, because these were places where ignorant, uninformed practice was occurring. Monks were not learning to see that the Pure Land was within their own minds, the Sôn orientation toward yômbul practice that had been common in Korea since the Koryô period. To ensure that such reforms were instituted throughout the country, Yongun finally advocated that a national headquarters in Seoul 30) Han Yongun chônjip, p. 106; Han Chongman“, Usin sasang,”p. 1151. be placed in charge of both lecture halls and Sôn centers, so as to standardize both branches of Buddhist education throughout the country.31)

Yongun’s attempts to combine lay and monastic Buddhism were justified by drawing on the mid-Koryô clarion call for the harmonization of Sôn meditation practice and Kyo doctrinal study. Sôn and Kyo had become estranged during the latter part of the Chosôn dynasty, with most of the conservative reformers within Korean Buddhism becoming exponents of the Sôn faction. Yongun instead emphasized the practice of both, restoring the Koryô emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between these two branches of Buddhist practice. Sôn, Yongun explained, develops a stable, concentrated, unmoving mind, which allows the practitioner to endure the difficulties of life and ultimately reach nirva – n.a. Kyo instead develops wisdom and provides the principles necessary to put compassion into action so as to save other beings. Drawing on an ancient metaphor used in Korea by both Wônhyo and Chinul, Yongun suggests that Sôn and Kyo are like the two wings of a bird, and the fortunes of Buddhism depend on the presence of both.

But perhaps the most radical solution Han Yongun offered to this perceived split between the monks and the laity in Korean Buddhism was his call that monks and nuns should be allowed to marry, For an insightful discussion of Yongun’s rationale for allowing monks to marry,32) a move that would controvert monastic standards of celibacy in place since virtually the inception of Buddhism in Korea. Apart from a few individual iconoclasts, Korean Buddhist monasticism had always been based on the institution of celibacy. Even during the severe repressions of the Chosôn dynasty, Buddhist monks still mostly observed celibacy. It was not until the final years of the dynasty that adherence to the precepts became increasingly lax among the ecclesia. As contact with incoming Japanese missionary monks brought the news that that most materially advanced of Asian Buddhist nations permitted monks to take wives, some of the first widespread instances of marriage among Korean monks are noted. By the turn of the twentieth century, it had become common knowledge among Koreans that many monks were secretly marrying, regardless of the restrictions still in place. The Chosôn Pulgyo wôlbo(Korean Buddhism Monthly) of November, 1912, reported, for example, that many monks of the time neither wore monk’s robes nor kept the precepts–both discreet codes for marriage.33) Han Yongun felt that this increasingly common state of affairs should be acknowledged publicly and marriage officially allowed by the order. Monks who wished to marry would then no longer need to

32) see Yi Nu-nghwa, Chosôn Pulgyo t’ongsa (A Comprehensive History of Korean Buddhism) (1918; reprint ed., Seoul: U-ryu Munhwasa, 1959), vol. 1, pp. 617-620. 33) The testimony of this journal may be somewhat suspect, since it is considered to have been the organ of pro-Japanese factions within the Korean Buddhist order. See Henrik H. Sorensen“, Korean Buddhist Journals during Early Japanese Colonial Rule,”Korea Journal 30-1 (Jan., 1990), p. 19.

maintain the pretense of being celibate but could get on with their real vocation of studying, meditating, and teaching without inviting potential scandal or suffering scruples.In March and September of 1910, Han Yongun sent separate petitions to the Japanese cabinet (Chungch’uwôn) and the monastery supervisory board (T’onggambu) asking that they lift restrictions on monks and nuns taking a spouse and allow both the freedom (but not the obligation) to marry.34)Yongun’s arguments in favor of clergy marriages appeal to common sense, Buddhist doctrinal teachings, and the potential benefits of married monks to society, religion, and the government. Social stratification within Buddhism between the celibate clergy and the married laity, Yongun explains, was inhibiting the religion’s ability to adapt to the changing circumstances of modern life. In an argument remarkably similar to those proposed by reformists within the Catholic Church of our own age, celibacy, Yongun suggests, was no longer relevant in the present age, which was characterized by rapid social change. Because this precept remains in place, however, many monks who would remain in the order if allowed to marry were instead seceding from the order. Monks numbered only five to six thousand during Yongun’s time, andtheir numbers would continue to remain small, he claimed, as long as this outdated restriction remained in place. And privately, many monks were ignoring the rule on celibacy and marrying anyway, causing unnecessary

34) Both memorials are appended to the section on marriage in his Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon, pp. 63-64, 64-65.

pangs of guilt. Because they are compelled to honor outmoded restrictions, the waning influence of Buddhist monks was weakening both society and religion, a process that would eventually lead to the demise of the religion. If monks were, however, allowed to marry and produce offspring who would be Buddhist by birth, Buddhism would be better able to compete with other religions and widen its own sphere of influence in society, thereby protecting its viability. The internal tensions over the marriage issue were, by extension, upsetting the virtue (todôk) of the government as well. If monks were instead permitted to marry, the number of people within the Buddhist order would vastly increase, strengthening both government and society through the burgeoning influence of a revitalized Buddhism.In addition to these practical benefits accruing from allowing monks to marry, such basic doctrines of Korean Buddhism as“ the unimpeded interpenetration of all phenomena”left no valid grounds for claiming that such a common human affair as marriage was unwholesome and thus deserving of being prohibited. The main reason monks were practicing celibacy, Yongun argued, was because of the Vinaya prohibition on sexual intercourse. But the cardinal Hwaôm doctrine of consummate interfusion (wônyung/yuanrong) offered an elegant solution to this restriction: since truth and falsity had no real essence, and merit and demerit had no fixed natures of their own, all such extremes were actually interfused. Thus celibacy and marriage were really no different and neither should be considered optimal for monastic practice. True, marriage might make it more difficult to maintain monastic decorum. Nevertheless, Han argued, the potential benefits accruing to the religion from having monks who intimately understood secular life were so great that marriage ought to be allowed.35)

The Buddha originally abolished marriage only as an expedient means of practice for those of lesser capacity–presumably meaning those monks still attached to sexual desire, or those too dull to understand the doctrine of consummate interfusion, though Yongun does not clarify precisely what he means here. This prohibition had not, however, been an inviolate feature of Buddhism since the inception of the religion–a valid point, since the Vinaya tells us that this precept was not instituted until some two decades into the dispensation.36) However, since this was an ancient ecclesiastical law, the monks could not decide on their own to ignore it andbegin marrying. A government proclamation to permit marriage was necessary. Neither the cabinet nor the monastery supervisory board responded to Yongun’s petition, however.Rebuffed by the government, Han Yongun instead tried to lobby the ecclesiasticalleaders of Korean Buddhism to accept such a move. In his “Essay on the Future of Buddhism and whether Monks and Nuns Should be Allowed to Marry”in his Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon,37) Han Yongun reiterated his arguments in systematic fashion, exploring the rationale behind the prohibition against clergy marriage and why these were no longer applicable in contemporary society. Han lists the four major arguments for maintaining the prohibition against marriage, and

35) Han Yongun chônjip, p. 119; Han Chongman“, Usin sasang,”p. 1153. 36) For a representative description of the background to the promulgation of this first disciplinary precept, see the account in the Maha-vagga. 37) Chosôn Pulgyo yusillon, pp. 58-63.

repudiates each.1) Clergy marriage controverts ethical norms (hae ô yulli). Yongun replies that most people consider the greatest ethical sin to be a lack of filial piety. By not carrying on the lineage of the family, the celibate monk is offending the hundreds of thousands of generations of both ancestors and potential successors. Yongun here has simply revived a perennial argument, used often against Buddhism throughout its history in East Asia, that celibates were unfilial; but it a startling twist that a progressive Buddhist is now using it against more conservative factions within the order.2) Clergy marriage injures the nation (hae ô kukka). While this may seem to us a rather naive position for Yongun to adopt, it is one that would appeal to the cultural and social inferiority Koreans were feeling during this period. Yongun replies that in civilized countries (meaning the West), where people are free to choose their own marriage partner, the population has expanded rapidly, allowing rapideconomic and social progress as well. When the liberal politicians of the Occident hear that Buddhist monks are prohibited from marrying,“ they are surprised and feel sadness,”he says. Yongun’s position resonates in particular with those of progressive intellectuals after the 1880s, who felt that fundamentalchanges were necessary in traditional Korean society in order to support the establishment of a modern nation-state along Western lines.38)3) Clergy marriage impedes religious dissemination (hae ô p’ogyo). Although Buddhists are trying to disseminate theirreligion throughout the world, Yongun explains, if they restrict marriage and do not allow potential converts to have a family, then who would have any interest in converting to Buddhism? But even if they were successful in converting some people to Buddhism, those converts would finally only revert to lay life.4) Clergy marriage inhibits moral development (hae ô p’unghwa). Humans have strong desires for food and sex; indeed, persons who have physical bodies but say they have no such desires are braggarts and liars.But if people forcibly try to repress their desires by clinging to the precepts, those desires will only become stronger, bringing immense grief to them and making any kind of happiness impossible.“ If we reflect upon Buddhist history after the end of the Koryôdynasty,”Han tells us, “we see that the attempt to maintain the purity of the monks ruined Buddhism as a whole.”Yongun suggests here that Buddhists’outmoded, conservative response to the challenge of the Neo-Confucian persecution– holding fast to the precepts–led them to their present dire straits. Moral reforms stood a better chance of succeeding if marriage were allowed than by demanding that monks force themselves to maintain an outmoded, irrelevant precept.In advocating clergy marriage, Yongun was not demanding that all monks and nuns should be forced to take a spouse. Religious committed to celibacy should be allowed to follow their own path; but so too should monks who thought marriage would be a way of furthering their religion.

Monks who choose marriage are simply following the examples of other Buddhist bodhisattvas and spiritual exemplars who practiced Buddhism while living in the world.39) Yongun even goes so far as to say that as long as the monk remains devoted to hisreligion, it was of little consequence whether he kept all the myriad rules of the Vinaya.40) By allowing monks to make this crucial decision for themselves, Buddhists would learn personal freedom of choice, a necessary quality along the road toward democracy.Han’s petitions and lobbying to allow marriage initially gained little support within the order. In March, 1913, for example, at a meeting of the abbots of the thirty head monasteries, an agreement was reached prohibiting wives from living in the temples, as well as forbidding women from lodging overnight in the monasteries.41) But these restrictions were difficult to maintain, given the calls for secularization occurring among some of the reformers within the order and the support of the Japanese governor-general for a married clergy. Within a decade, monks maintaining celibacy were in the minority. Finally, in October, 1926, intense Japanese pressure compelled the head abbots to repeal the prohibition against marriage. From that point on monks were officially allowed to marry (taech’ô) and eat meat (sigyuk). Within three years, some eighty percent of monasteries formally eliminated the restriction on

having wives in residence, marking what was then the end of an era for traditional Korean Buddhism and the beginnings of a new schism in the order between married priests (taech’ôsông) and celibate monks (pikkusu-ng).42)A married clergy created profound changes in Korean monastic life during the Japanese colonial period. Monks with families needed guaranteed sources of income, prompting monks to accumulate private property and often take gainful employment. Such moves not only reduced the amount of property held in common by the monasteries, thus creating economic hardship for the bhiks.us who refused to take jobs, but also limited the amount of time spent in traditional monastic vocations, such as doctrinal study, meditation practice, and proselytization.Conveniently for the Japanese colonial administration as well, married monks were much more sedentary, tied as they were to their families and jobs, and thus much less able to travel freely about the country fomenting demonstrations, or possibly spying, as were the celibate monks.

Implications for Contemporary Monastic Buddhism in Korea

Whatever the obvious problems Japanese dominion over the peninsula may have created for Korean Buddhism, the occupation did help to galvanize the tradition after centuries of Confucian persecution during the

Chosôn dynasty. The Japanese were decidedly sympathetic to Buddhism and did much to support the religion, especially during the Chosôn dynasty’s final stage of decline. This support helped create a sense of pride in Buddhism, which restored the tradition’s long-lost sense of selfesteem.Contacts with Japanese monks also opened for the Koreans new perspectives on the social role of Buddhism, initiating much creative thought within the tradition concerning how to make the religion relevant to the changing conditions of contemporary life. At very least, exposure to the flourishing Buddhist tradition of Japan revealed to Koreans that Buddhism and modernity could develop hand in hand.Tightening Japanese control over Korean Buddhism after the formal annexation of Korea, however, undermined the fledgling reform movement initiated by such leaders as Han Yongun. Because the reform proposals offered by this progressive faction within the order were often modeled upon Japanese developments that occurred during the Meiji period, these proposals closely mirrored the eventual religious policies of the Japanese colonial administration. Hence, progressive proposals–as for a married clergy–came to be identified with manipulative Japanese policy. After the March First independence movement of 1919, indigenous progressive reformsall but vanished as Korean Buddhism came to be dominated by the conservative faction within the order. The focus of change within Buddhism was then not to reform Buddhism but instead to restore the putative traditions of old. The reforms instituted by the government-general were consequently viewed as subterfuges for Japanese attempts to undercut the viability of the tradition. What Buddhism truly needed, many monks felt, was to look within its own traditions–back to the eminent Korean masters of the past, back to the doctrinal training and meditation practice of the Koryô golden age–for the raw materials from which to cast a revitalized Korean Buddhism. The victory of conservative forces within the order was assured.The Purification Movement (chônghwa undong) of the 1950s and 1960s would seek to cleanse from Korean Buddhism the last vestiges of Japanese influence, including what was considered the most blatant of all– the married clergy. The dominant Chogye order became a conservative institution of celibate monks, bitterly opposed to the much smaller T’ aegoorder of married priests, who were considered to represent the remnants of failed Japanese colonial policy. With their near-total victory over the T’aego priests, the Chogye leaders have entertained only grudgingly more recent initiatives from liberal, and usually younger, factions within the order, including calls for secularization. In recent years, the Chogye order has been rent by increasing discord between reform and conservative factions, and this conflict remains a major factor in contemporary ecclesiastical politics. The elderly leaders of the order remember with considerable bitterness the“ reforms”foisted on the tradition by the Japanese, and fought those reforms for decades. After finally succeeding in driving out the Japanese and regaining control of the monasteries from the married monks, these senior monks have shown little interest in entertaining progressive initiatives from those whom they consider young upstarts within the ecclesia with no sense of history. Hence from a variety of standpoints, we see the continuing effect that the legacy of the Japanese occupation has had on contemporary Buddhism in Korea.Clergy marriage during the Japanese occupation period ultimately was not something that the Korean Buddhists themselves independently chose. Rather, it was a policy forcedupon them by Japanese colonial administrators and, therefore, was inevitably opposed by Korean Buddhist nationalists. Once the Japanese were finally removed from power, celibacy was restored to most segments of the indigenous monastic tradition. But still today in Korea, many of the reasons that Han Yongun and other progressive reformers cited in first advocating clergy marriage remain. We may therefore expectthat, as long as the relevancy of traditional Buddhist institutions in contemporarysociety remains in question, the debate over the advisability of celibacy will continue within the Korean Buddhist church.

Twenty One out of the Two Hundred and Twenty Seven disciplinary rules for a bhikkhu concern sexual behavior. The four Parajika rules laid down for the bhikkhus have been increased to eight parajika rules in the disciplinary rules applicable to the bhikkhunis. Three out of these additional four rules applicable to the bhikkhunis pertain to sex life and can be considered as secondary rules deriving from the first parajika rule. Hence half the number of the parajika rules laid down for bhikkhunis deal with sex in one way or another.1) Similarly amongst the many additional

disciplinary rules introduced for Bhikkhunis in the category of Sanghadisesa and Pacittiya rules too, a substantial number deal with sexual behavior and impairment to the life of brahmacariya.There is a tendency to interpret the essence of the brahmacari life as celibacy. However Mohan Wijeratne in Buddhist Nuns writes No where in the Buddhist doctrine or its discipline do we find any praise of perpetual virginity, or any notion such (as) physical saintliness or ecclesiastical celibacy. Moreover the Buddha does not attach any importance whatsoever to sacred ritual nor does it search for any ritual purity through abstaining from sexual relations’2)In the light of the heavy stress on celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for monks and nuns in Theravada Buddhism and the general understanding of the philosophy as expressed by Mohan Wijeratne above, it is necessary to investigate in to the role of celibacy on the Path of Enlightenment.Hence this paper investigates in to the role of celibacy on the Path of Enlightenment;‘ Is it celibacy through Enlightenment or Enlightenment through Celibacy?’with special focus on the recorded practice of Buddhist female disciples. In doing so we will first examine the place of celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for bhikkhunis in the Theravada Tradition. Secondly the Buddhist text refer to female disciples of the Buddha who have attained mental development or attained fruits of the Path as very young girls , entered marriage thereafter , produced children and continued to lead a perfectly normal married life. Hence we will examine the role of celibacy in the lives of the lay female disciples who2) Mohan Wijeratne, Buddhist Nuns, Colombo, Wisdom, 2001, p. 116.are reported to have attained significant mental development as recorded in the Theravada Texts.In the recent field research done by the writer addressing certain controversies surrounding‘ Enlightenment’in the Theravada Tradition i.e. interviews with contemporary meditators of the Theravada tradition, both monks, nuns and layman and lay women who are believed to be with specific religiousexperiences, it has been found that whilst some have attained the fruit of Stream-entry (first stage of Enlightenment) whilst leading a‘ spotlessly clean’celibate life, some laymen observed the prescribed sila, i.e. indulging in permitted sexual activity, whilst some others claim that before their experience which lead them to the‘ entry in to the Path’, as a layman they lived a life breaking all possible norms including the third precept which is an undertaking to abstain from sexual misconduct. Therefore thirdly this paper will investigate the results of field research done with contemporary meditators in the Theravada tradition.

II. The place for celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for bhikkhunis

The process of the evolution of the Universe and man kind accordingto Buddhism is set out in Agganna Sutta (A Book of Genesis). The first referenceitself to sexual intercourse between man and woman as set out in this sutta portraits it as an act of immorality and vulgarity. Accordingly in the process of evolution, with the physical appearance of‘ sex distinction’ in the beings who up to such time had no such distinction, the newly evolved male and female, being overcome by lust, indulged in sexual intercourse with each other which lead to the on- lookers in the rest of the community throwing sand, ash and cow – dung at them saying‘ perish you foul (impure) one, how can a being treat a being so?3) Nibbana the ultimate goal of Buddhism being the complete destruction without remainder, of lust, aversion and ignorance (raga dosa moha) , the emphasis on restraining or abstaining from sensual pleasures including sexual relations in the practice towards this goal is understandable. More over the Buddha says Monks I know of no other single form by which a man’s heart is so enslaved as it is by that of a woman. Monks a woman’s form obsesses a man’s heart . I know of no other single sound by which a man’s heart is so enslaved as it is by the voice of a woman. Monks a woman’s voice obsesses a man’s heart ⋯scent ⋯savour ⋯touch ⋯The explained that the same holds true for the heart of a woman.4) Hence the Disciplinary Code for monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to the Practice commences with a heavy emphasis on celibacy.The disciplinary rules of the Pali Vinaya for a monk or a nun who has received Higher Ordination fall in to eight categories i.e. 1) Parajika 2) Sanghadhisesa 3) Aniyata 4) Nissaggiya Pacittiyas 5) Pacittiya 6) Patidesaniya 7) Sekhiya 8) Adhikarana Samatha.The Parajika offences being the most serious of all result in the expulsion from the Order of monks or nuns. The‘ parajika’means ‘defeat’and by transgressing these the monk or the nun gets‘ defeated’3) T.W. and C.A.F. Rhys David, Dialogue of the Buddha Vol III, PTS, 2002, 854) Anguttara Nikaya Vol.1, PTS, 2000, 1.meaning he or she has not being able to resist temptation and has been being defeated by defilements (kelesa).5) Once defeated, such a person is unworthy of belonging to the Community. All offences other than Parajika are remediable by subjecting himself or herself to the stipulated punishment and/or the procedures and thereafter conducting according to the Code of Discipline.Sanghadisesas are the most serious remediable offences. ASanghadisesa offence by a bhikkhuni reduces her to a probationary period called‘ manatta’of 15 days . The bhikhuni’s period of manatta was equal to the‘ parivasa period’, the probationary period a bhikkhu is subject to for this category of offences. During the probationary period the offender’s status in the community is reduced by depriving him or her of certain rights and privileges he is entitled to and alsoby making it known to the rest of the community thereby making it a deterrent for wrong doing. Nissaggiya Pacittiya do not involve any punishment, the object improperly acquired is given up. The Pacittiya rules are less severe involving only a confession.The four Parajika rules laid down for the bhikkhus have been increased to eight Parajika rules in the disciplinary rules applicable to the bikkhunis.Three out of these additional four rules applicable to the Bhikkhunis pertain to sex life and can be considered as secondary rules deriving from the first parajika rule. Hence half the number of the parajika rules laid down for Bhikkhunis deal with sex in one way or another.6) Out5) Mohan Wijeratne , Buddhist Nuns, p. 74.6) Jothiya Dheerasekara , Buddhist Monastic Discipline, Colombo, 1992, p. 149.of these, Parajika rule No. 1 which is held in common with the bhikkhus and rules 5 and 8 of the additional four rules applicable to the bhikkhunis are direct references to sexual acts.

Parajika rule 1- Whatever bhikkhuni should deliberately indulge in sexual intercourse, even with an animal, she becomes one who is defeated. She cannot live any more with the other bhikkhunis.7)

The equivalent of the above rule for the bhikkhus is as follows;‘ If a monk who has accepted the discipline , without rejecting it, without pronouncing his ability to continue (monastic life), has sexual intercourse, even with a female animal, he commits an offence entailing defeat⋯�⋯’ In the bhikkhuni’s rule the words‘ without rejecting it, without pronouncing his ability to continue (monastic life)’has not being included.Accordingly a monk had to make known his intention to abandon the discipline before the assembly of the Community or before a group of monks or before an individual monk who has obtained Higher Ordination or at least before a layman who can understand what he says.However a bhikkhuni could leave the order without such declaration.8) As applicable to the bhikkhus the above rule extends to restraining from sexual activities with not only animals, but also with non-humans such as demons and celestial beings, with dead bodies, hermaphrodites (ubhatobyanjanako) , eunuchs (pandakas) , with a person asleep etc.7) Mohan Wijeratne , Buddhist Nuns, p. 182.8) – do – Note 6, 116.Whilst the Parajika rule 1 deals with active participation in sexual activity, the following Parajika rules preclude a bhikkhuni from even being a passive sex partner.

Parajika rule 5- Whatever bhikkhuni filled with desire, should consent to rubbing, or rubbing up against, or taking hold of or touching or pressing against a male person who is filled with desire, below the collor bone and above the circle of the knees, she becomes one who is defeated⋯

Parijika rule 8- Whatever bhikkhuni, filled with desire, for the sake of following this unsuitable thing , should consent to a male person who is filled with desire, taking her hand, or should consent to his taking hold of even by the edge of her outer cloak (sanghati), or should stand or should talk or should go to rendezvous, or should consent to a man coming towards her , or should enter a covered place or should dispose her body for such a purpose, she becomes one who is defeated⋯

In both above rules though it appears as a passive role physically, the words‘ filled with desire’and‘ consent to’(sadiyeyya) indicates the role of the mind.Psychologically‘ to consent’does not mean simply‘ to give in’or‘ to let things go’or‘ to give way to’. It means‘ to agree with’,‘ to approve’, and particularly in the case of Parajuka 5, to accept and actively indulge in the pleasures that are felt, that have been felt, and that are going to be felt.9) It is for the same reason that the victim of rape in the event the victim being an Arahant or emission of semen in a dream do not fall within the definition of this offence. The Arahant theri, Uppalavanna who was raped by a young man in the woods was declared by the Buddha not guilty of Parajika 1 as, an Arahant is one who has eradicated lust and therefore can not be guilty of consenting to the act .The following Sanghadisesa rules10) applicable to bhikkhinis are noteworthy.

Sanghadisesa 3 – No bhikkhuni shall, alone leave the village , cross the river and go beyond, shall stay a night out, or be out of the company of the group. Whoever does so shall be guilty of an Sanghadisesaoffence.

Sanghadisesa 5 – No bhikkhuni shall with lustful intentions receive and partake of any food from a lustful man with similar intentions.

Sanghadisesa 6 – No bhikkhuni shall tell another‘ whatever will this man do to you. whether he is lustful or otherwise, as long as you entertain no such thoughts. Therefore you accept and partake of whatever he offers you’

The above rules seem to be with the objective of not only to curtail the opportunities to entertain lustful thoughts and conduct but also to safeguard the bhikkhunis from being victims of rape, molestation and9) – do – , 118.10) Jothiya Dheerasekara, Buddhist Monastic Discipline, 149.other physical dangers and also to safeguard the community of bhikkhinis as an Institution from disrepute and unwarranted accusations from the public, supporters of the community and other interested parties. Some of these have been considered so grave that it warrants the guilty bhikkhuni to be reduced to a probationary period.

The following Pacittiya rules11) are also for the same objective.

Pacittiya rule 11 – No bhikkhuni shall in the darkness of the night, at a place there is no lamp, stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him. Whoever does so will be guilty of a Pacittiya offence.

Pacittiya rule 12 – No bhikkhuni shall stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him in a secluded place.

Pacittiya rule 13 – No bhikkhuni shall stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him in an open place.

Pacittiya rule 14 – No bhikkhuni shall, in the street, in a blind alley or at the cross roads, stay alone in the company of a man, converse with him, whisper in his ear, or send away the bhikkhuni who is her only companion.

It is noteworthy that the above conduct is considered an offence what ever the state of mind of the bhikkhuni may be, whether she acts with or11) – do – 150.without lust. The following rules serve the same purpose.12)Pacittiya rule 51 – Whatever bhikkhuni who knowingly enter a monastic residence where a bhikkhu lives, without asking for permission, she is guilty of a fault of Pacittiya category. Pacittiya rule 102 – Whatever bhikkhuni should lie down in the lodging where a male person lives ⋯

Pacittiya rule 103 – Whatever bhikkhuni who teaches Dhamma to a man in more than five or six sentences , unless a knowledgeable woman is present ⋯

Pacittiya rule 125 – Whatever bhikkhuni should sit down and wait in private in a secluded seat with a man ⋯

Pacittiya rule 126- Whatever bhikkhuni should sit down and wait together with a man ⋯

In the bhikkhuni Vinaya there seem to be several rules to safeguard against sexual practicessuch as masturbation, homosexuality etc. The restrictions in the Vinaya againstsharing the same bed, couch, sharing the same blanket, from rubbing each others bodies, applying oils etc on another could be multi purpose including to safeguard against possible12) – do – 197, 201, 203.sexual activity. Some of these are as follows ;

Pacittiya rule 3 – In slapping with the palms of the hands (on the private parts of the body), a bhikkhuni is guilty of a Pacittiya offence

Pacittiya rule 4 – In penetrating some thing e.g. some thing made out of wax (in the private part of the body) a bhikkhuni is guilty of an offence

There is a reference in the Pali text to a bhikkhuni inserting a ‘jatumutthaka’inside her genitals. The term jattumuthaka is translated in to English as a‘ decking with lac’(Pali English Dictionary – PTS London), a device used by women in society at that time to prevent conception. It is something made of wood, flour or clay. Subsequent to this incident the Buddha laid downa rule which not only forbids them from using jatthumuttaka but also touching their genitals even with a blade of grass.13)

Pacittiya rule 5 – states that when bhikkhunis wash their genitals, their fingers should not be inserted for more than two inches inside the vaginas.14)

Pacittiya rule 32 – whatever two bhikkhunis should share one blanket or one bed sheet, they are guilty of an offence⋯

Pacittiya rule 90 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment massaged by a nun, she is guilty of a fault of pacittiya

Pacittiya rule 91 – Whatever Bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a postulant , she is guilty⋯

Pacittiya rule 92 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a female novice, she is guilty ⋯

Pacittiya rule 93 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a woman householder, she is guilty The Vinaya rules also safeguards against the bhikkhunis conducting themselves in such a manner that would arouse lustful feelings in men i.e. wearing ornaments, scents, bathing naked in public places etc.

Pacittiya rule 96 – Whatever bhikhuni who should enter the village without her vest , she is guilty ⋯

Pacittiya rule 86 – What ever bhikkhuni should wear a sanghani, she is guilty of ⋯�⋯�(a sanghani is a decorated cloth or an ornamental chain to wear around the hip).15)

Sexual intercourse has been commonly referred to in the text as not true dhamma, it is a village dhamma, low-caste dhamma, wickedness, the final ablution, secrecy, having obtained in couples. The extent of the sexual taboo on the Path to Enlightenment of a monk or a nun who has renounced the household life can be determined by the Buddha’s advice to Sudinna at the time of promulgation of the first parajika rule as follows;

It were better for you, foolish man that your male organ should enter the mouth of a terrible and a poisonous snake , than it should enter a woman. It were better for you, foolish man , that your male organ should enter the mouth of a black snake⋯�⋯ charcoal pit ⋯�⋯burning ablaze, a fire than enter a woman.16)

Based on these statements there is a tendency to interpret the essence of the brahmacari life as celibacy. However in Methuna Sutta of Anguttara Nikaya, replying to brahmin Janussoni the Buddha declared a bhikkhu or Brahmin who declares himself to be a person of perfect brahmacariya, may not enjoy sexual intercourse with a woman, but this is not enough to warrant such a declaration.17) It is further said that if he allows a woman to rub his body with oil or perfume, to give him a bath and shampoo him and enjoys or longs for it, if he laughs sports or enjoys with a woman, if he looks in to, watches with expectation, the eyes of a woman who does the same in return, if he listens through a wall or a fence to the noise of a woman who is laughing, reciting, singing, or weeping , if he remembers that he has formally laughed, talked , and sported together with a woman, if he sees a householder or a householder’s son, in possession of five sorts of pleasure and being attended by a woman or if he practices brahmacariya desiring to join a class of celestial beings, such brahmacariya cannot be called unbroken, uninterrupted, unvaried, unadulterated, perfect and pure brahmacariya.18)

The above clearly shows that abstinence from sexual activity is not the essence of the practice towards Enlightenment even in the case of a monk or a nun . Mohan Wijeratne in Buddhist Nuns writes; 17) Anguttaranikaya, Buddha Jayanthi Tipitaka Series, Colombo, 1960-77, Vol. 21, Pt. 4, 362 / Chamindaji Gamage, Buddhism and Sensuality, Colombo, 1998, 83.18) – do- 362-364.No where in the Buddhist doctrine or its discipline do we find any praise of perpetual virginity, or any notion such (as) physical saintliness or ecclesiastical celibacy. Moreover the Buddha does not attach any importance whatsoever to sacred ritual nor does it search for any ritual purity through abstaining from sexual relations. Attaching a sense of spiritual value to the human body was foreign to Buddhism. ⋯�⋯we should also note that with regard to abstinence, Buddhist nuns never had a notion such as‘ giving one’s life completely to a divine spouse”, nor were they tied to a spiritual marriage.19)

A married woman is permitted to enter the order of nuns at the age of twelve years provided there is permission from her husband or the parents to do so (Pacittiya rule 65 and 80). However in the case of a unmarried woman she is not permitted to enter the Order until 20 yrs (Pacittiya rule 71). These rules seem to be giving sufficient time for a unmarried woman to make a decision about entering in to wedlock and in the case of married women this also serves to protect the Institution of marriage. Hence it can be concluded that despite the heavy emphasis on celibacythere is no sacrosanct value attached to celibacy within the Buddhist philosophy except that these rules have been enacted both for molding a mind conducive for treading the Path and for safeguarding and supporting the Community of monks and nuns.

19) Mohan Wijeratne, Buddhist Nuns, 116.

III. The role of celibacy in the practice of lay female

Buddhist disciples who have attained fruits of the Path Once a lay disciple, Migasala questioned Ven. Ananda as to how to understand the dhamma thought by the Tathagata, as it seems that both, one who lives brahmacari life (celibate life) and one who doesn’t, after death takes a similar birth.She said‘ my father, sir, Purana, lived the godly life (brahmacari life), dwelling apart, abstaining from common carnal things ; and when he died the Exalted One explained : He is a once-returner, dwelling in Tusita. My uncle, sir Isidatta, did not live the godly life but rejoiced with a wife; and of him also, when dead, the Exalted One said : He is a once-returner, dwelling in Tusita. Reverend Ananda how ought one to understand this Dhamma?’This incident was reported to the Buddha by Ven. Ananda seeking an explanation.In this sutta , the Buddha comes out very strongly against the attempt of Migasala to pass judgment about the attainments of others.20)

The Buddhist Path to Nibbana, its ultimate goal is marked by four land marks , the four fruits of the Path. They are (a) Fruit of Stream- entry (Sotapatti-Phala) (b) Once Returner (Sakadagami-phala) (c) Non Returner (Anagami-Phala) and (d) Arahatta-Phala (Nibbana). These are progressive stages of development of the mind. This sutta highlights that celibacy by20) Anguttara Nikaya Vol.III, PTS Edition, 246.itself is not a factor for the attainment of mental development expected on this Path nor a pre-condition for enlightenment at least up to the third fruit of the Path, as both, the one who‘ rejoiced with a wife’and the one who practiced celibacy have progressed up to the same fruit. At this point it is important to note that at the third fruit of the Path, a Non-returner (Anagami) eradicates all sensual pleasures, naturally reverting to a celibate life whether he or she has renounced lay life or not.In the light of the above sutta it is important to examine the recorded lives of disciples of the Buddha to determine the role of celibacy on their Path to Enlightenment. Most of the recorded cases of the disciples who attained fruits of the Path are of monks and nuns who are expected to lead celibate lives. Celibacy is a pre-condition for them .Therefore the extent of the impact of celibacy on their practice or its success can not be assessed externally. Hence the extent of the role of celibacy for the purposes of Enlightenment can be examined only by dwelling into the recorded lives of lay disciples who had the freedom to lead a non-celibate life. Following are some accounts of such disciples-

I) It is said of Visakha (the chief female lay disciple of the Buddha) who attained sotappatti phala at the age of seven years Visakha got married at the age of fifteen or sixteen years ⋯�⋯In the course of time she gave birth to ten sons and ten daughters and all of them had the same number of descendants down to the fourth generation. Visakha herself lived up to the remarkable age of 120⋯�⋯ She was strong as a elephant and worked untiringly throughout the day looking after her large family. She found time to feed the monks every day, to visit monasteries, and to ensure that non of the monks lacked food, clothing, shelter, bedding and medicine.Above all she still found time to listen to the dhamma again and again⋯ she wore her valuable bridal jewellery even when she went to listen to the dhamma⋯ She was declared by the Buddha as the foremost among women lay supporters who serve as supporters of the Order.21)

Accordingly having attained the first fruit of the Path as a seven year old she entered marriage and continued to have ten children and enjoy sensual pleasures. She was obviously not leading a celibate life. With the first fruit of the Path one is assured of completing the Path to Nibbana, at the latest within seven more lives and is assured of not falling back from the Path . He or she is said to have firmly entered the‘ Stream’to Nibbana. Further from this point onwards he or she is said to continue to progress towards the final goal and only the time taken to reach the final goal differs from one another depending on each one’s commitment to the Practice. Hence Visakha having attained first fruit of the Path and whilst continuing towards her final goal and associating the Buddha so closely as his chief lay female disciple, yet celibacy had no real role in her practice.

ii) Nakulapita and Nakulamata (Father Nakula and Mother Nakula) arementioned by the Buddha amongst his foremost lay disciples, and their unfaltering faithfulness to each other has been highlighted in the Text. The Pali Canon depicts their relationship with each other as exemplary and a21) Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmut Hecker, The Great Disciples of the Buddha, Chapter 7 (Kandy, Buddhist Publication Society, 1997, 247-255.)conjugal love of divine stature accompanied by absolute trust based upon their common faith in the Blessed One. An old couple by the time they met the Buddha, the wife and husband declared to the Buddha that though married to each other very young they had not even once broken the faith with each other throughout the years , not even in thought leave alone in deed. They had not deviated for a moment from their mutual fidelity. In their devotion to each other, both of them expressed to Buddha their longing to be together in the future births and asked for advice from the Buddha to achieve it and they were advised by the Buddha accordingly.22)

Once when Nakulapita, the husband fell gravely ill and Nakulamata addressed him was as follows;

Do not harbor distress at the thought of my being left behind. To die like that is agonizing, so our Master has advised against it. ⋯�⋯I am skilled in spinning and so shall be able to support the children, after having lived the home life chastely with you for sixteen years I shall never consider taking another husband; I shall never cease seeing the Master and his bhikkhus, but rather visit them even more frequently than before; I am firmly established in virtue and have attained to peace of mind; and lastly I have found firm footing in the Dhamma and I am bound for final deliverance.23)

22) – do-, 375.23) – do -, 377.

The above words of Nakulamata shows that the couple though been flawless in their conjugal love towardseach other and having had children from this marriage still have lived a celibate life for sixteen years (gahatthakan brahmacariyan samacinnam). Further the words I am firmly established in virtue and have attained to peace of mind; and lastly I have found firm footing in the Dhamma and I am bound for final deliverance is an indication that Nakulamata had attained the first fruit of the Path, Sotapatti-phala.24)

This gives us an indication that though very much in love and attached to each other to the extent of wanting to meet in the future births, the spiritual attainment of the couple had lead them to a celibate life.

iii) Khema was the beautiful chief consort of king Bimbisara who was himself a Stream-enterer. Though the King was a great benefactor of the Buddha and she had heard so much about the Buddha from the King, she never wanted to visit the Buddha as she had heard that the Buddha preaches about the vanity of beauty and sensual pleasures. However once the King managed to get her to visit the monastery where the Buddha was residing and she went with her royal splendor with silk and sandalwood and gradually got drawn in to the hall where the Buddha was preaching.The Buddha having read her mind, through his psychic powers created a beautiful women, more beautiful than her, standing behind him and fanning him while he was preaching. She was enthralled by the beauty of the woman. Gradually the Buddha created the‘ woman’to change from24) – do -, Note 7, 392.youth to middle age, and then to old age, with broken teeth grey hair and wrinkled skin until it finally fell to the ground lifeless. Having made her realize the vanity of beauty the Buddha preached her a stanza at the conclusion of which she was established in the first fruit of the Path. The Buddha continued to preach and at the conclusion of the sermon she attained Arahanthood dressed in her royal clothes itself. She obtained permission from the King and entered the order of nuns.25) Later she was declared by the Buddha as one of the two foremost bhikkhunis in the Bhikkhuni Sangha.

The above account shows that at the time of this incident, both the King who himself was a Stream-enterer and Khema who was his chief consort were very much enjoying sense pleasures. At the time of attaining Arahanthood she was not leading a celibate life as a part of her practice to Enlightenment. However upon full Enlightenment naturally she renounces lay life. Hence in this case celibacy had no real role in her Practice towards Enlightenment.

When we consider the above reports and many other accounts of enlightened disciples of the Buddha as recorded in the Pali text, it is difficult to conclude conclusively to what extent celibacy plays a role in Enlightenment.25) – do -, 263-264.

IV. Findings of field research

In the recent field research done by the writer addressing certain controversies surrounding‘ Enlightenment’in the Theravada Tradition i.e.interviews with contemporary meditators of the Theravada tradition, both monks, nuns and layman and lay women who are believed to be with specific spiritual experiences, it has been found that whilst some have attained the fruit of Stream-entry (first stage of Enlightenment) whilst leading a‘ spotlessly clean’celibate life, some laymen observed the prescribed sila (indulging in permitted sexual activity), whilst some others claim that before their experience which lead them to the‘ entry in to the Path’, as a layman they lived a life breaking all possible norms including the third precept which is an undertaking to abstain from sexual misconduct.

– A 54yrs monk who is 27yrs in robes, the chief preceptor of a well established forest hermitage in Sri Lanka related the impact of his first significant religious experience on this Path as an irreversible change in his morality. He who was ridiculing virtue (sila) and laughing at those abiding in sila realized the power of sila, became virtuous, began to worship the virtuous, preach to others about the power of sila.

⋯I first realized the power of sila. That is, the sila that I ridiculed all this time or that I considered as being restricted to a jail, became the sole purpose of my life .

⋯I who was poking fun at or ridiculing sila began to worship the virtuous and also to preach to others about the importance of sila. That is, there occurred an irreversible change in morality ⋯�⋯Later for years I examined myself, can I kill, can I steal, can I engage in sexual misconduct etc and shame, fear, disgust arise towards these⋯�⋯ Before this experience I had the desire to investigate in to lust, therefore I had distorted ideas about it, that I need to experience everything about it. Similarly with hatred , to chop a creature alive knowing well that its alive and struggling, to steal from the most heavily guarded place, to taste all the possible intoxicating drugs in the world , in cheating, to cheat even my mother and father etc. Having done all this I have been fairly successful. But there has been nothing achieved. Then when I came on to this side the opposite happened. I wanted to stay away from even thinking of lust and hatred. ⋯

He began to feel enormously indebted to the Buddha and to Buddha Sasana, in return wanted to serve unreservedly for Dhamma, felt a need for a teacher and entered monkhood.26) This is the impact of his first fruit of the Path, Stream-entry. Here is a case where Enlightenment has lead to celibacy to say the least.

In the above recent field research out of the three married female disciples interviewed by the writer on their significant religious experiences on the Path, it was found that at the time of their first fruit of the Path, two were leading a normal lay life with their spouse and family and were abiding in the five precepts which is the minimum level of sila26) Yuki Sirimane, Religious experience in a Buddhist perspective with specific focus on Sotapatti -phala, 2006 (Unpublished) Interview No. 4. (This research has been done for the purposes of her Doctoral Thesis).expected of a lay disciple. However all these three disciples being in practice for over 10-20yrs, eventually, a few years down the line from this experience, have shifted to a higher mode of virtue including a celibate life whilst continuing in lay life. Except for abstinence from sexual relations, in all other aspects they continued to lead a‘ normal’and a complete lay life. The following is a brief account of the relevant field research.

Case study -1

A 66yr old married lady , a house wife, with two children had her first significant religious experience (Fruit of Stream-entry) 30yrs ago during a meditation retreat at a meditation Center. During the time of this experience she was observing the eight precepts as she was on a formal meditation retreat. However during this time she was leading a perfectly normal married life fulfilling the responsibilities of a mother and of a wife and was observing the five precepts as her regular sila. Though she continued to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother and as a wife in all other aspects, after a period of‘ four to five’years from this experience she started leading a celibate life, observing a‘ higher sila’. Although she was not observing all eight precepts (i.e. abstaining from perfumes, juwellery etc and abstaining from solid foods after the noon meal hich are included in the eight precepts) she was inclined to abstain from sexual relations. Though initially her relationship with the husband was strained due to this reason, with time it was accepted by him. As of today she continues to lead a harmonious married life whilst striving for higher fruits of the Path.

Case Study -2

A 56yr old married lady, a mother of two children, who is a teacher by profession had her first significant religious experience 19yrs ago. She had her first religious experience (which she describes as the Fruit of Streamentry) at home. During this time she was managing a home and was discharging her duties as a mother and as a wife, however was observing a‘ higher sila than the five precepts’. Today several years after this experience though she is leading a normal lay life in all other aspects, she is observing the eight precepts abstaining from not only sexual relations but from many other sensual pleasures including not having solid foods after the noon meal. At the time of this experience her relationship with her husband was already strained and with time it became worse and ended up with separation. However as of today she maintains a harmonious relationship with her husband though not‘ living together’ but living under the same roof.

Case Study -3

– A married lady in her early forties, who is a senior executive in the mercantile sector, had her first significant religious experience (Fruit of Stream-entry) 11yrs ago. She had her experience at home whilst observing the five precepts and leading a perfectly normal lay life. However around 4yrs from this experience she found herself naturally inclining towards abstaining from sexual relations with her husband and today she is leading a celibate life though not observing all eight precepts. The celibate life has not affected the harmonious relationship between her and her husband who is appreciative of the Dhamma. She continues to lead a perfectly normal lay life in all other aspects including perusing her career as she continues her quest for Nibbana.

In all above cases it is noteworthy that the practioners concerned have opted for a celibate life whilst being young enough to be sexually active. In the case of males interviewed by the writer who attained the fruits of the Path as lay disciples, few years after their first experience, both males ended up entering the Order of monks leading a completely celibate life.

Conclusion

Having examined the lives of disciples above it is difficult to conclude that celibacy is a pre-condition for Enlightenment. Nor can we determine the extent of the contribution of a celibate life towards one’s Enlightenment. However given the extreme sexual taboos enforced on the Community of monks and nuns in the form of disciplinary rules, the role of celibacy on the path to Enlightenment can not be under-estimated.The disciplinary rules have been laid down by the Buddha for the following reasons;

a) Well-being of the Sanghab) Convenience of the Sanghac) Restraint of evil minded personsd) Ease of well behaved monkse) Restraint amongst the defilements of this lifef) Eradication of the defilements of the life afterg) Conversion of new adherentsh) Enhancement of the faith of those already convertedi) Stability and continuance of the Dhammaj) Furtherance of the good discipline27)

Hence Disciplinary rules are not merely for Enlightenment. It is also meant to serve multiple purposes vital for the sustenance of the Community of Sangha as an Institution.Therefore the rule of celibacy imposed on the monks and nuns too is not merely for Enlightenment. With progress on the Path, realizing the true nature of sensual pleasures and the mind and body one progresses through to a celibate life naturally. Some reach such a state of mind earlier than others . In any event at the latest, with the attainment of third fruit of the Path, Anagami-phala one switches over to complete celibacy. Ajahn Brahmavamso writes; ⋯since sensual desire has been totally transcended, there is no spark left to ignite the passion for sex. All Arahants are ‘potently impotent’.28)

Written by Bernard Senecal sjFaculty of Religious Studies,Sogang University,Seoul, South Korea

Introduction

The practice of Ganhwaseon1) in Europe is in line with the broader context of the introduction of Buddhism into the Western world. Accordingly, in order to study that practice we must first examine the context it belongs to. The English historian Arnold Toynbee(1889-1975) did not hesitate to say that the introduction of Buddhism in the West constituted the most important historical event of the 20th century. It may perhaps be compared with the introduction of Indian Buddhism into China some two thousand years ago. As a result, the encounter of Buddhism with the West most certainly represents and event of extremely broad and deep meaning.

Many scholars have strove to define the boundaries of the encounter of Buddhism with the West. In 1952, Cardinal Henri de Lubac (1896-1991) published La Rencontre du bouddhisme et de l’Occident, a work that would become a classic.2) In 1999, Frederic Lenoir published another book,3) on the same topic and with exactly the same title, in which he updated de Lubac’s work. And in 2000, the famous Singer-Polignac foundation, located in Paris, organized a colloquium on the understanding of the encounter of Buddhism and the West since Henri de Lubac(L’Intelligence de la rencontre du bouddhisme, La rencontre du bouddhisme et de l’Occident depuis Henri de Lubac).4) This colloquium may be understood as an attempt to understand the main events having marked the history of Western Buddhism during the second half of the 20th century. In 2002, also came out a book entitled Westward Dharma, Buddhism Beyond Asia.5) According to its authors the study of Western Buddhism has begun only recently6) and it is still to early to describe its outcome.7)

In fact, it is quite difficult to define in a fully satisfactory way such broad entities as Buddhism and the Western World. Consequently, in 2003, willing to favor a complete, precise and balanced understanding of Buddhism by Westerners, Paul Magnin published Bouddhisme, unite et diversite-Experiences de liberation.8) Of course, the seven hundred and fifty pages of this synthetic introduction to Buddhism represent the culmination of the author’s thirty years of scholarly research and reflection. But as I began writing this paper, I would have appreciated to find a work capable to match Paul Magnin’s book, and that would have been entitled L’Occident, unite et diversite-Experiences de liberation. If such a book existed, it ought to state clearly the ground on which the unity of the Western world and its experiences of liberation may be defined. Nevertheless, in order to talk about the encounter of Buddhism and the West coherently, one has to provide at least a minimal definition of those two concepts. But such definitions should be dynamic, that is, capable of taking into account the fact that reality is constantly changing. And that is even more so when we begin to realize that Buddhism and the West are already engaged in a process of mutual transformation. Such is the context in which we have to examine the practice of Ganhwaseon in Europe.

Since our research is limited to Europe, it may look easier at first sight. But such is not the case. That is because the Ganhwaseon practiced in Europe comes from at least four different countries : China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Moreover, things may be complicated by the fact that traditions that existed independently in their homeland may now interact freely as they have to coexist within the European countries they have been imported to.9) In addition to that, one has to take into account the fact that the activity of Masters like Seungsahn and Thich Nhat Hanh goes well beyond Europe. That may make it all the more arbitrary to try to describe the practive of Ganhwaseon in Europe. We should also keep in mind that Europe is a huge continent of 3.900.000 square kilometers, with a population of 456.000.000 people, living in 25 different countries and speaking 20 official languages, not to talk about dialects. Even as it is strugling to achieve its unity, Europe keeps expanding by accepting new countries.10) As the result of those geographical characteristics, the context in which Buddhism is expanding in Europe is very different from that of America.11) Similarly, Buddhist-Christian dialogue has started later in Europe than in America.12)

There are two ways to approach the practice of Ganhwaseon in Europe. The first one consists in reducing the dimensions of the topic. In order to do that we can limit our study to the three main European schools offering Ganhwaseon practice to their followers.

The first one has been founded by the Japanese Taisen Deshimaru(1914-1982), a disciple of K?d? Sawaki(1880-1965) from the S?t? school(曹洞宗). Arrived in Paris in 1967, Taisen Deshimaru trained a lot of disciples and founded the Association Zen d’Europe, which later became the Association Zen Internationale(AZI).13) In 1979, he acquired the estate of la Gendronniere(Loir-et-Cher) and founded the first European Buddhist monastery. His several thousand disciples have founded over a hundred temples all over Europe. At present, the AZI runs over two hundred temples worldwide.

The second one is the Sanbo Kyodan(三寶敎團),14) a minority group among the Japanese Zen schools, also called the Kamakura school. It has been founded by Hakuun Yasutani(1885-1973)15), a disciple of Harada Dauin Sogaku(1871-1961)16), who had inherited the Dharma of both the Rinzai(臨濟宗) and the S?t? schools. This school distinguishes itself by two characteristics. First, it never required from its Western followers that they convert to Buddhism. On the contrary, it still claims that anybody, including non Buddhists, can benefit from the practice of Ganhwaseon. For this reason, the Sanbo Kyodan has transmitted the Dharma to a number of Westerners that were working in Japan, including Christian pastors, sisters and priests, as well as rabbis. As those people went back to their native countries, they created branches of the Sanbo Kyodan.

The third group has been founded by Thich Nhat Hanh and is based on the practice of the Vietnamese version of Seon called Thien. Thich Nhat Hanh came to the West in 1970 and created several meditation groups in a number of countries. In 1982, he decided to settle down in France at the Village des Pruniers(Dordogne), and created an association called l’Ordre de l’Inter-Etre,17) which very strongly emphasizes both the practice of meditation and the importance of social work.18)

Each of the above three groups reckons approximately thirty thousand people. Nevertheless, with around half of its members practicing hwadu(話頭) meditation, the Sanbo Kyodan from Japan is by far the most important European school of Ganhwaseon. There are, of course, other schools of Ganhwaseon in Europe, like for instance from the Japanese Rinzai or the Korean Kwan?m(觀音)19) lineages. However, since they numerically much less important, just like Taisen Deshimaru’s AZI or Thich Nhat Hanh’s Ordre de l’Inter-Etre, in the fourth part of this paper we shall focus our attention on a more detailed description of the Sanbo Kyodan.20)

A second way to study the practice of Ganhwaseon in Europe, which we shall also use in this paper, consists in observing how the Western mind interacts with the spirit of the Seon school. More precisely, we will try to show how this mind encounters the religious tradition that has most contributed to the shaping of the Western mentalities. Even though Western Christianity is facing a deep crisis it undoubtedly remains the main religious tradition of the West. Therefore, the first part of this paper will be a synthetic introduction to the encounter of the practice of Ganhwaseon with the Occident. The second one will point to some aspects of Christianity that may facilitate the adaptation of Ganhwaseon practice to the Western world. A third one will describe what kind of help and transformation Christianity may expect from such a practice. A fourth and final part will describe some of the concrete attempts that have been made to integrate hwadu meditation to traditional Christian methods of meditation.

1. Understanding the Encounter of Ganhwaseon with the West

Above all, one should keep in mind that Ganhwaseon has a very long history. A rapid glance at a book like Jeong Seongbon S?nim’s Seon’?i Sasanggwa Yeoksa21) is enough to realize it. In order to understand Ganhwaseon practice as it has been completed and established under the Song dynasty by Wono K?kk?n(?悟克勤,22) 1063-1125), from the Yanggi branch of the Imje school(臨濟宗 楊岐派23)), and his Dharma heir Taehye Chonggo(大慧宗?,24) 1089-1163), one has to trace the remote beginnings of its history back to the third millenium B.C. in Indian Antiquity. As a result, the development of Ganhwaseon has taken place over several centuries and left us a considerable amount of litterature. It is a well known fact that Ganhwaseon practice may be considered the ultimate fruit of the encounter of Indian Buddhism with Chinese thought. Moreover Seon also is the most Confucian form of Buddhist.25) As a result, Ganhwaseon practice not only represents the result of a long encounter of Chinese thought with Indian Buddhism but also the complete emancipation of the latter from the speculative tendencies of the former.26)

This all means that Ganhwaseon is inseparable from very concrete situations. Consequently, one cannot but wonder how harmoniously the result of such a long historical process in the Far East can integrate itself as such to the West. Accordingly, it certainly isn’t an exaggeration to say that a full integration of Ganhwaseon to the Occident may require several centuries. Moreover, in order to be successful, the result of such a process should involve both faithfulness to the original spirit of Ganhwaseon and its perfect adaptation to Western culture. Maybe it will be possible, then, to talk about the quintessence of the encounter of Far East Buddhism with Western culture.

However, we may wonder if our scholarly knowledge of Buddhism and the sophisticated means of communication and transportation that are available in today’s world will not greatly accelerate and facilitate the settling of Ganhwaseon in the West. This could then mean that the Occident does not need, in order to understand the Buddha’s teachings correctly, a phase of adaptation similar to the one China went through as it interpreted Buddhists concepts through Taoist categories during two centuries.27) As a result, quoting the worldwide achievements of Masters like Hakuun Yasutani, Seungsahn or Sheng-yen,28) some do not hesitate to claim that Ganhwaseon has already taken root in the West.

Nevertheless, Victor So?gen Hori29) from McGill University does not hesitate to say that the Dharma still has to come to the West. Such a statement does dot deny the existence of a great number of Seon centers throughout the Western world, but challenges the validity of the meditation practiced and the authenticity of the Dharma transmitted in those places.30) I also believe that it is to early to claim that the Dharma has already arrived to the Occident. Indeed Ganhwaseon practice only represents a fraction of Western Buddhism’s practice and, even though the Buddha’s tradition seems destined to enjoy a bright future, its followers still do not represent more than a tiny minority.

The following table displays the number of Buddhists and Buddhist groups found in ten European countries in the late 1990s.31)

Country

Buddhists

Buddhists from Asia

Groups and

Centers

Approximate Total Population

(Millions)

Percentage of Total Population That Were

Buddhists

France

～350,000

～300,000

～280

58

0.6

Britain

180,000

130,000

400

58

0.3

Germany

170,000

120,000

530

82

0.2

Italy

70,000

～25,000

～50

57

0.1

Netherlands

33,000

20,000

60

15

0.2

Switzerland

25,000

20,000

100

7

0.3

Austria

16,000

5,000

50

8

0.2

Denmark

～10,000

～5,000

～32

5

0.1

Hungary

7,000

1,000

～12

10

0.1

Poland

～5,000

500

30

39

0.02

note: ～denotes very rough estimate

As we can see, in England, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland the numbers of Buddhists coming from Asia is far superior to that of the native converts. We must also notice that the statistics corresponding to French Buddhism are nothing but a gross approximation. That is because good information remains difficult to find and because it is hard to define who really is a Buddhist.32) But this identification problem seems to go well beyond France.33)

We should also be careful to keep in mind that the figures displayed in the above table do not correspond to the Seon school but only to Buddhism as a whole. However the following chart gives an idea of how Buddhism from five European countries may be categorized according to tradition.34)

Tradition

Great Britain

(%)

France

(%)

Germany

(%)

Switzerland

(%)

Netherlands

(%)

Theravada

18.5

6.5

15.2

21

14

Mahayana

(Seon)

18.1

53

35.6

29

44

Tibetan

36.9

36.8

42.2

48

37

Non-aligned

26.5

3.7

7

2

5

It has to be noticed that, with the exception of France, Tibetan Buddhism has a majority in all countries. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that a certain number of Seon centers in France have had to close their doors because of the fierce competition coming from Tibetan Buddhism. In other words, Europeans are strongly attracted by Buddhism from Tibet.

According to Martin Baumann, Buddhism is destined to remain a minority religion in Europe during the 21th century.35) That is enough to make some people in the Far East hastily conclude that Westerners cannot achieve enlightenment. Such statements recall us the Roshis(老師) claiming that being Japanese was a condition sine qua non to achieve enlightenment. Such a declaration is not only founded on ultranationalism, it also denies the core teaching of Mah?y?na Buddhism, according to which all sentient beings are endowed with the Buddha nature(佛性). In order to refute it, let us quote the dialogue that took place between the young and illiterate Hyen?ng(慧能, 638-713) and the Fifth Patriarch Hongin(第五祖弘忍, 594-674).

“The priest Hung-jen asked me : ‘Where are you from that you come to this mountain to make obeisance to me ? Just what is it that you are looking for from me?’ I replied : ‘I am from Ling-nan, a commoner from Hsin-chou. I have come this long distance only to make obeisance to you. I am seeking no particular thing but only the Buddhadharma.’ The Master then reproved me, saying : ‘If you’re from Ling-nan then you’re a barbarian. How can you become a Buddha?’ I replied : ‘Although people from the south and people from the north differ, there is no north and south in Buddha nature. Although my barbarian’s body and your body are not the same, what difference is there in our Buddha nature?’ The Master wished to continue his discussion with me ; however, seeing that there were other people nearby, he said no more. Then he sent me to work with the assembly. Later a lay disciple had me go to the threshing room where I sent over eight months treading the pestle.” T.2007, vol.48, p.337a27-b7. Translation from The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the text of the Tun-Huang manuscript, translated, with notes, by Philip B. Yampolsky, New York, Columbia University Press, 1967, p. 127-128.36)

Needless to say that it is very contradictory to pretend that the Dharma has to be transmitted to the West while harboring such prejudices.

Roshi Albert Low from the Montreal Zen Center insists to say that it is quite counter-productive to claim that the Dharma has not come to the West yet. Instead, he suggests to work at discovering or rediscovering the elements of Western thought and culture that may favor the acceptance and integration of the Dharma to the Occident.37) In a sense, what Albert Low says may be understood as Buddhism already existing in the West even before the coming of the Dharma. Nevertheless, however seductive such an idea may be, it ought to be handled carefully. Because if the Dharma already exists in the West, then its introduction from Asia shouldn’t make any difference.

In the next chapter, we shall examine closely some aspects of Christianity that may facilitate the adaptation of Ganhwaseon to the West.

2. Christian Hermitic life and Ganhwaseon

In order to understand how Ganhwaseon may be adapted to the West, it is very important to grasp thoroughly what constitutes the core of hermitic life in the Christian tradition.38)

1) The Age of the Desert Fathers

Western hermitic life began in the third century with Saint Antony of Egypt(250-356). He retired alone to the desert39) in order to begin living as a hermit. People being attracted by his life of asceticism, he soon found himself surrounded by many followers. Moreover, Antony’s influence rapidly reached the rest of Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and all parts of Europe where thousands of people made the decision to become hermits.

The appearance of Western hermitic life corresponds to the time when Constantine(? -337) converted to Christianity. Christians naturally rejoiced greatly as a long dreamed of event finally materialized. But such a triumph also had its side effect. Indeed, as the political power of the Church started to rise, the fervor of its followers began to cool down. Since it is precisely that fervor that had favored the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman empire, its loss could not but be deplored by lucid believers. Therefore, it certainly is no coincidence if the beginning of hermitic life corresponds to an overall weakening of the Christian faith. In other words, hermitic life can be understood as the strong reaction of some believers willing to recover the spirit that had animated the martyrs throughout three centuries of harsh persecutions. The Christians who animated that very powerful renewal movement are called the fathers of the desert.

In fact, in order to find the origins of Western hermitic life, one has to go back to great figures of the Old Testament like Abraham(19th c. BCE), Moses(13th c. BCE) and Elijah(9th c. BCE). And, of course, one also has to remind John the Baptist(1st c. BCE-1 c. CE)40), who lived in the desert during several decades, and Jesus the Christ, who did the same during forty days, fasting and overcoming all temptations.41)

The desert fathers left us a huge inheritance : “collections of their sayings, letters, sermons, ascetical treatises, biographies, monastic rules, and historical and theological essays of great value.”42) Among the praying methods that they have thaught us, one deserves a special attention. It is called ?prayer of the heart? and chiefly consists in repeating, day and night, to the rhythm of one’s breath, the name of Jesus. In many ways, this technique of meditation resembles the continuous(omae iryeo 寤寐一如) observing(kan 看) of the critical phrase(hwadu 話頭) of a kongan(公安).43) The practice of the prayer of the heart began in the Eastern church from where it has spread all over the world. Its goal consists in achieving continuous peace of the heart. The literature left to us by the desert fathers has considerably influenced all currents of Christian spirituality.44)

Over the centuries, Christian hermitic life has taken a great variey of forms. It is neither necessary nor possible to describe them all in this paper. Therefore I will only indicate briefly the role played by hermitic life at some key moments of the history of Christianity.

2) The Middle Ages and Saint Francisco of Assisi

Francisco of Assisi(1182-1226), the famous Italian saint who created the religious order that bears his name, may well be considered one of the chief representatives of hermitic life in the Middle Ages. In his time, the Church enjoyed considerable power and wealth. The extreme poverty that characterized Francisco’s life style has been a powerful challenge for an institution that had moved away from Christ’s spirit. There is no doubt that the long time that Saint Francisco spent in solitude, praying and fasting, allowed him to gather the spiritual energy necessary to accomplish his mission .45) It is also well worth noticing that he wrote a rule for hermits.

3) The Renaissance and Ignatius of Loyola

The Church of the Renaissance saw the rising of the Basque Ignatius of Loyola(1491-1556), the founder of the Society of Jesus, also called the Jesuit Order. Ignatitus came to realize that the Church of his time was to narrowly centered on Europe and that it had to open itself up to the rest of the world. That is the reason why he founded an international religious order which he placed directly under the authority of the pope. As a result, the members of that congregation could go anywhere in the world in order to answer rapidly and efficiently to any demand of the supreme authority of the Church. But the most amazing is the fact that Saint Ignatius not only lived as a hermit for over a year, but also considered seriously dedicating all his existence to that life style. Indeed, he wanted to enter in the Carthusian Order, whose most famous monastery, la Grande Chartreuse,46) is located in the French Alps. That religious congregation has been founded by Saint Bruno(1030-1101) for people desiring to spend their whole life in a community of hermits. Though Saint Ignatius’ desire has not been realized as such, it has considerably influence all the spirituality of the Jesuit Order. That is why it may be said that the Jesuits are Carthusians living right in the middle of the world. This means that there is a common ground between the desire of a hermit to enjoy the freedom of a complete solitude, that allows the total entrusting of oneself to the action of the Spirit, and the apostolic freedom, to be found in the middle of action, aimed by Saint Ignatius to realize the same goal. This means that the contemplation of a hermitic life can be fully combined to a radical social commitment. It is written in the constitutions of the Society of Jesus that any Jesuit willing to become a Carthusian monk is perfectely free to do so. This means that for the fully awakened one there can’t be any contradiction between living in complete solitude and being present to the whole world. It also signifies that as it is possible to contemplate right in the middle of highly dynamic action,47) it is also possible to be active in the depth of the most profound contemplation.48) Here we can discover one of the main characteristics of the way of life embodied by Christ himself.49)

4) Today’s Hermitic life

Hermitic tradition remains very lively in today’s world. The mere fact that it exists offers to people the possibility to take some distance from a society that is so full of itself that it believes that its high technique and industry is capable of satisfying all of human desires. Indeed, even though they lived in solitude, hermits have always played the role of spiritual director for those that came to beg their help. Moreover, when hermits live in communities, they often run retreat houses allowing those willing to do so to share their life style for some time. Here, rather than describing the multiple forms of hermitic life found in today’s world, I will briefly recall some of its key figures. This should allow us to detect the main trends of hermitic life in today’s world.

The French Charles de Foucauld(1858-1916) has spent his life as a hermit in the Hoggar Mounts of southern Algeria. By doing so, among other things, he aimed at entering into dialogue with Islam.

The Frenchmen Jean Monchanin(1895-1957) and Henri le Saux(1910-1973),50) as well as the Englishman Bede Griffiths(1906-1993) have dedicated their lives to a dialogue between Christianity and Hindouism by living with the hermits of the Saccidananda region of India.

As one of the most famous hermits of the 20th century, the American Thomas Merton(1915-1968) considered that the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers “enables us to reopen the sources that have been polluted or blocked up altogether by the accumulated mental and spiritual refuse of our technological barbarism.51) Such words remind us (8 c. BCE) what God said, through the prophet Hosea, to the Hebrews who once more had abandoned Him to worship idols : “I shall seduce you, take you to the desert and speak to your hearth.”52) One of Merton’s biggest contribution is his beginning of dialogue between Christianity and the Buddhists monks and nuns of Asia. This dialogue has kept developing ever since.53)

Catherine de Hueck Doherty(1896-1985), from Russian descent, has written over thirty books, the best known of which is Poustinia. In that work she encourages people living in huge modern cities to create a space of silence and prayer, ie of desert, right in the middle of their homes. That is in order to become more intimate with God in every day life.

Finally, we can think of the Swissman Brother Roger(1915-2005), assasinated lately, whose Taize community in France has considerably favored the development of Christian ecumenism worldwide.

The above examples allow us to draw the following conclusions. Although the meaning of hermitic life is very often misunderstood by people, it has always had a considerable influence on all the Christian tradition. Indeed, even though they dwelled in solitude, hermits have always strongly influenced not only the life of the Church but also the societies on the fringe of which they lived. In this sense, it is not exaggerated to say that hermitism is the life of Christianity.

Even though hermits have never been more than a very small minority, it is important to underline that they have kept recalling all Christians the irreplaceable importance of silence and meditation whenever one wishes to deepen his understanding and knowledge of truth. Moreover, today’s hermits are inviting all Christians to achieve unity and to dialogue with the world religions.

All the above facts on hermitic life allow us to realize that Western society has at its disposal a strong tradition that can considerably facilitate its acceptation of Ganhwaseon practice.

3. The Help that Western Christianity can get from Ganhwaseon

Like all religions Christianity has been victim of its success. This is true to such an extent that we may say that as failure is the mother of success, success is the mother of failure.54) Western Christianity, despite having had to face challenges coming from atheism and inner divisions, has managed to maintain the same shape during several centuries. Moreover, it has had no serious contacts with another well organized religion, like Buddhism for instance, also dealing thoroughly with the problems of suffering and death.

There is no need to describe in this paper the actual situation of European Christianity. As we have said above, this Christianity is facing a crisis. The decreasing number of its faithfuls should be enought to prove it. As an explanation of this situation, we may say that European Christianity has lost a huge part of its vitality. Consequently it has also lost a lot of its capacity to attract people. In front of such a situation some naturally ask whether Chrisitianity still has a future or not.55) That is why so many Europeans are looking for a new source of hope. It is against that backdrop that Ganhwaseon is being introduced into the Western world. My argument is that as a transfusion of blood may save the life of a dying person, so may Ganhwaseon practice, without loosing its identity, become a source of renewal for Western Christianity. Of course, Christianity may end up developing a new shape through such an encounter.

From here on , before explaining what kind of help Christianity may get from Ganhwaseon practice, I will recall briefly what is the original spirit of the Christian tradition and what are the consequences of its lost .

1) The Original Spirit of Christianity

In the New Testament Christ says of himself that he has nowhere to rest.56) In many ways such a statement may resemble one that is found in the Platform S?tra of the Sixth Patriarch(六祖壇經) and according to which non-abiding is set as the main doctrine(無住爲本).57) In order to understand the meaning of Jesus? words, we have to go back to Abraham, the common ancestor of Christians, Jews and Muslims.

As a Bedouin, Abraham lived in the solitude and silence of the deserts he wandered about. As a nomad, he had a tent for abode and did not store surplus products. He lived entrusting himself to the circumstances and believing that all he needed, beginning with water and food, would be given to him day after day.58) Even though the land Abraham was waking toward had been promised to him,59) instead of being thought of as a country like today’s Israel, that land should rather be understood as the true self60) that one has to find within him. In other words, in some ways, it resembles a lot the Pure Land.61) In that sense, Abraham was walking toward himself, that is toward his true nature. As he was following his course, Abraham was always opened to God and the others, so that he kept experiencing new realities. That is why it may be said that God kept surprising him. As God was not where Abraham expected him to be, He also was where Abraham did not expect Him to be.62) Similarly, Abraham did not know whom he would meet during his journeys across the desert. Such unexpected encounters kept transforming him. Consequently, as we can discover through Abraham’s experience, truth is not an abstract reality such that we could take hold of it. On the contrary, truth is a dynamic and lively reality we are being seized by through concrete experience. Such a truth is given at every step and rediscovered at every instant. If there were some signs along the desert roads followed by Abraham they kept indicating contradictory directions. In other words it was a road without road.63) . Some of Jesus’ words may help us to understand what this means : “The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. So is it with everyone who is borne of the Spirit.”64)

It is in order to rediscover the nomadic spirit of Abraham that hermits made and still make the decision to entrust themselves to the solitude and the silence of the desert. It is this very spirit that has allowed them to act as reformers within Christianity. As this spirit when it is fully-fledged is the Spirit of Christ, it has to be the spirit of all Christians. In other words, as all Buddhists have to become living buddhas so should all Christians become living christs.65) But unfortunately, the descendants of Abraham tend to forget his spirit.

2) The Problem with Christianity

History teaches us that Christians, Jews and Muslims keep displaying a tendency to forget the common root of their respective faith : the spirit of Abraham. In other words, they tend to prefer a sedentary life to a nomadic one, noise to silence, and gathering together rather than solitude. That is why they abandon nomadic life, and build houses in cities well indicated by road signs and in which they can store in large quantities just about anything they want. However such a transformation of their way of living has a considerable impact on their conception of truth. Truth loses its concrete and dynamic character to become a fossilized an absolute abstraction. At the same time, the Christians lose their ability to deal with reality inductively and their thinking becomes more and more deductive. Instead of being constantly transformed by constant and unpredictable encounters with God and others, they try to control those encounters by reducing God and others to their limited horizon. In a word, instead of living by the truth, they become administrators of the truth. As a result, the clerics harboring such a state of mind end up transforming the temple of Jerusalem into a place where a stuffed god is being worshipped. Such was Judaism in Jesus’ time. It may be said that Christianity is a reformist reaction to such a temple. Jesus said to the clerics of his time : “Woe to you experts on the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. And not only haven’t you gained access, you have stopped others who were trying to enter.”66)

Of course, all that we have just said represents a dramatized and condensed view of Western Christianity. Nevertheless, it may be said that a constant conflict, between a nomadic and a sedentary paradigm, constitutes one of the main impulses behind the unfolding of Christian history. Each time that the course of events has had an excessive tilt toward the latter, a reformist movement based on the former has arisen. This is exactly what a synthetic look at the history of hermitic life within Christianity has allowed us to highlight. And it may be said that the Christian conscience is always tempted to rebuild the Jerusalem temple,67) let it be in Rome or elsewhere. Such a tendency deepened as the Catholic church became split with the Orthodox church in 1054 and with the Protestant church in 1517.68) But the ecumenical council of Vatican II(1962-1965), as it has emphasized both the unity of all Christians and opened dialogue with all religions of mankind, has made a historical effort to put the situation right. And Pope John Paul II(1920-2005) has been perfectly faithful to that spirit of renewal.69) Such an opening in an effort to renew Christianity reminds us of the one made by some adepts of Seon desiring to renew their tradition through contacts with the West.70)

3) The Contribution of Ganhwaseon

I think that Ganhwaseon can bring something to a Christianity eager to renew itself. Indeed, Ganhwaseon practice can remind Christians of the traditional values hermitism and of Abraham nomadic life : silence, solitude, the mobility of non-abiding and meditation. Such a reminding cannot come from a inner challenge alone, it must necessarily also come from an external one. This means that a genuine reform is possible through an epoch-making event like the encounter of Ganhwaseon with Christianity.

Ganhwaseon has the advantage that it can be practiced, either individually or in group, even in the middle of cities. It suffices to regularly create a space of silence and solitude in the place where we dwell. Ganhwaseon may allow our troubled minds to get rid of their endless and sterile calculations to recover their original simplicity. As a result, it helps us to acquire a right view71) as he faces the world he lives in.

It cannot be said that Christians do not have traditional methods of prayer. On the contrary, though they have many, most of the time they either do not know them or do not use them. Moreover, if they want to recover a dynamic understanding of truth, these methods of prayers may gain much from an encounter with techniques of meditation coming from another tradition. For instance, though there exist both an affirmative and a negative way (Via Affirmativa and Negativa)72) within Christianity, the vast majority of those who pray usually tend to rely solely on the latter. As a concrete example, let us recall one of the sayings of Jesus to his disciples : “Still, I must tell you the truth : it is much better for you that I go.”73) In fact, this means that in order to fully understand who He is and what He has said, Christians must let him go. Even though Jesus has clearly told them not to do so, Christians keep being attached to him in an excessive way, as if they were hooked to a finger pointing the direction of the moon.74) In many regards the dialectical relation of the affirmative and negative ways found in Christianity is very similar to the one found in Buddhism and especially in Seon .75) But the mutual complementarity of the two ways being much more clearly emplasized within Buddhism, the practice of Ganhwaseon can certainly help Christian to discover, or rediscove, and use a much more balanced approach of those two paradigms. In a word Christians have to be born again from above. As Jesus has said : “Unless one is born from above, one cannot see the kingdom of God.” This is exactly what the practice of Ganhwaseon may allow Christians to discover. And if I say it, it is because I have experienced it.

Of course, some people could easily argue that the main ideas developed in this paper tend to reduce the understanding of the practice of Ganhwaseon to some of the needs of Western Christianity. But D. T. Suzuki did exactly the same when he introduced Seon Buddhism to the West as the non historical essence of all religions. It can be said that this is an extremely limited and selected view of Buddhism. Because by introducing Seon as such in his most famous works,76) D. T. Suzuki repackaged Buddhism according to the expectations and hopes of his Western readers.77) Such an attitude may deserve many criticisms.78) Nevertheless, it is precisely because of that repackaging that D. T. Suzuki could successfully introduce Seon Buddhism to the Occident. And even though what he did may be considered some flawed, since he intended to remain faithful to the spirit of Seon, it is hard to say that such a repackaging was completely wrong. Moreover, it is possible to say that the whole history of Buddhism is filled with similar examples. For instance, in his History of Buddhist Philosophy, David J. Kalupahana introduces Buddhism to Westerners through occidental categories,79) to such an extent that some critics claim that what he talks about isn’t Buddhism anymore. But in fact, since Buddhism has kept doing the same thing, for the sake of its adaptation, each time that it entered in a new area, such criticisms seem misplaced. The birth of Mah?y?na or of Tantric Buddhism may be considered other examples of the same phenomena.80)

I shall now talk about the concrete attempts that have been made to integrate the practice of Ganhwaseon to Christian methods of prayer.

Since there exist both common points and differences between Buddhism and Christianity, the attempts to integrate Ganhwaseon practice to Christian teachings have sparked off a number of reactions. I am now going to mention some of these reactions. Afterwards, I will describe the Sanbo Kyodan and give an account of the past history and of the prospects of the attempts made to achieve an integration of Ganhwaseon practice to the Christian tradition.

1) Western Reactions to Seon Buddhism

A first reaction consists in believing that the practice of Seon is the sole way to achieve truth. As a result the advocates of such a position consider that Seon Buddhism is superior to all other religious traditions and they look down at them. The Dalai Lama is very critical of such people.81) They believe that the followers of traditions others than theirs cannot discover what they find in Seon Buddhism. Such a feeling of superiority may make them look endlessly for an ever purer form of Seon tradition. As a result, they may end up looking and sounding very fundamentalist. They may end up confusing unessential matters like, for instance, clothes, furniture, or the tea ceremony, with essential ones. Such people make the Dalai Lama laugh .82) At the opposite extreme some people consider that Seon Buddhism is nothing but a hoax destined to fooling people. This is exactly the position of H. Van Straelen in his Le Zen Demystifie.83)

The two fundamentalists attitudes that we have just described are clearly opposed to a dialogue between Seon Buddhism and the West. Between these two extremes, we can find positions that are opened to a dialogue between the cultural and religious context to which Seon Buddhism has to adapt. But the problem is to find a good balance between mutual transformation and the maintaining of each partners identity.

Let us take a look at some attitudes regarding Christian Seon. According to Jacques Brosse, any attempt to disconnect the practice of Seon from Buddhism amounts to its neutralization.84) Similarly, Eric Romeluere claims that the teachings of the Seon school and of Christianity are so different that Christian Seon amounts to pure schizophrenia.85) On the other hand, the Benedict monk and priest Willigis Jager86) has got so deeply into the practice of Ganhwaseon within the Sanbo Kyodan that he has obtained the Dharma seal and became, though still a Roman Catholic priest, Ko-un Roshi. He also runs a very successful meditation center, called the Benediktushof,87) near Wurzburg, in Germany. Moreover, at an international level, Father Jager is one of the three highest persons in charge of the Sanbo Kyodan. But recently, the Vatican has decided to prevent Father Jager from teaching, declaring that the overall content of his predications was not conform to the tradition of the church. We may wonder if such a decision does not come from difficulties to understand the thought of a man who is too far ahead of his time. But even if it were so, let us remember the case of Thomas Merton who has managed to dwell in between the two extremes that we have just quoted. He declared that the more he got to know and love Buddhism, the more he could live as a good Christian.88) He also said that he felt closer to Buddhist monks practicing meditation than to Christians that did not. Nevertheless, Thomas Merton’s orthodoxy has never been challenged and he is unanimously recognized as a beacon of the encounter of Christianity with Buddhism.

2) The Sanbo Kyodan(三寶敎團)

With thirty thousand members, the Sanbo Kyodan is by far the largest organization teaching Ganhwaseon in Europe. Its followers have the choice between two different paths.89)

The first one, called ‘shikantaza(只管打坐)’90) merely consists in sitting down, observing one’ breath and physical sentations or the sensations coming from outside the body but without developing any attachment to them. In addition to that, those who wish to do so may pronounce the sound mu(無) with their mouth and lips, but without producing any sound. About half of the members of the Sanbo Kyodan practice shikantaza.

The second method adds Ganhwaseon practice to shikantaza and is practiced by the other members of the Sanbo Kyodan.

The Sanbo Kyodan uses about seven hundred kongans(公案) coming from five different collections(konganjip 公案集). They are given to the adept one by one and in a predetermined order. He must find the answer to a given kongan in order to get the next one, and must solve all the seven hundred kongans to get the Dharma seal. The first collection contains twenty two kongans. It has been made for Westerners by the founders of the Sanbo Kyodan. In general, these kongans have been selected from the other collections and their content does not refer too much to the Chinese background they come from.91)

The other collections are the Mumungwan(無門關), the Pyeogamnok(碧巖錄), the Jongyongnok(從容錄) and the Jeond?ngnok(傳燈錄). Yamada Koun Roshi(1907-1989) has made commentaries(chech’ang 提唱) for the all the kongans found in those records. As he wanted his students to understand easily, he thaught in English and explained to them the Chinese cultural, spiritual and religious background of each kongan. A commentary is not an answer to a kongan but an explanation that allows the student to getter a better grasp of the question asked by it. The commenteries of Yamada Koun Roshi have been translated in English, French, German and other European languages. The making of the commentaries is based on the kongans. As the content of the kongans is extremely diversified it allows the writers of commentaries to deal with just about every aspect of the adept’s life, either internal or external. In the Sanbo Kyodan, all the people that have either taken the direction of an already existing meditation center or created a new one have written commentaries in European languages.

The people practicing Ganhwaseon can do it individually or with a group meditating on a regular basis, generally weekly, or during an intensive training period lasting several days(yongmaeng jeongjin 勇猛精進). The encounter with the Roshi can take place during the weekly practice meeting, or twice a day during a period of intense training, or during an individual visit of the adept to the Roshi. The adept enters the room where the Roshi is sitting, bows in front of him, reads the text of the kongan that he is meditating and keeps silent during a brief moment. That silence is kept in order to allow the Roshi to say something or ask a question if he wishes to. Afterward, the adept displays the state of mind that he has achieved(ch’ed?khan kyeonggye 體得한 境界). In 99% of the cases, the answer must be non verbal. In other words the state of mind achieved has to be expressed through a gesture or an attitude. If the answer is correct, the Roshi may say a few words to help the student expand his conscience even more. Afterwards, the adept may start meditating the next kongan of the collection that he is going through. If the answer is wrong, the Roshi tells it to the student and then sends him back. In such a case, the adept has to keep trying to find an answer by himself, a process that may take several months if not years.

Kongans do not have logical answers. Consequently, an answer has to be found in an other dimension than that of reason. By doing so, a level of conscience different from the ordinary one may be stimulated. A correct answer cannot come out of a logical process. It must rather spring up from the deepest part of the human being. The answer must be non verbal in order to prevent the mind from playing the endless game of its rational tricks. Here, the Roshi’s attitude is very important, because he must discern instantly whether the state of mind displayed by the adept is rational or not. If it is, he must uproot the cause of the wrong answer on the spot. Here, ‘wrong’ does not mean that the answer is bad from a rational standpoint, but rather that it cannot arouse a deeper state of conscience. Indeed, the goal of kongans is to spark off small or big awakenings. The intense observation of the critical phrase of a hwadu(話頭) continuously trains the mind of the practitioner and leads him toward an ever greater opening to the hidden reality of the world.

Two main reasons may be given to explain why the members of the Sanbo Kyodan are attracted by the practice of Ganhwaseon. The first one is because they believe that such a practice will allow them to discover something that does not exist in the Western tradition. The second one is because they hope that Ganhwaseon will help them to get the indomitable and countless passions of their mind under control. It is interesting to notice that they all start looking at kongans with a considerable amount of curiosity, believing that they are simple enigmas that they will be able to solve through rational thinking. However, most of them overcome this first approach. But the most essential problem comes from the Chinese cultural background in which Ganhwaseon was born. Its understanding requires the learning of an entirely new language with its symbols and metaphors. This is the reason why Ganhwaseon will never be popularized. Of course, a considerable number of works explaining the context in which Ganhwaseon was born, as well as translations and interpretations of the records of the sayings of the patriarchs, or of the s?tras and treaties, keep being published in Western languages.92) In addition to that many efforts have been made to create kongans for Westerners and there are numerous possibilities. Material like some short stories coming from the Bible, as well as sayings of Christ or of the desert fathers could be used. But to my knowledge nobody has really succeeded yet in taking advantage of that material. Above all, there should be specific answers to the kongans thus made, but nobody has done yet the research necessary to find and test them.

The above informations allow us to see that the Sanbo Kyodan can rightly claim that it has a clear Dharma lineage. In addition to that, it also offers a fully-fledged course of kongans, to be solved one by one, and each having a distinct answer. On the other hand, it is important to mention that some masters attach no importance to these three elements, claiming that a course of kongans to be covered step by step, each with its own answer, is against the genuine spirit of the Seon school. In addition to that, the Sanbo Kyodan also enjoys a good international organization and all its masters agree to abide by a strict and clear code of ethics.93) In that regard, the Sanbo Kyodan is unlike so many Seon centers that do not belong to a specific organization.

Beside the reasons that we have just mentioned, there are two others that may help to understand the success of the Sanbo Kyodan. The first one is that its first Western members are people who went to Japan to learn the culture and the language. It is with such a first hand knowledge that they went back to their native countries to transmit the teachings of the school. The second is its openness toward other religions, including Christianity. But the AZI of Taisen Deshimaru and the Association Inter-Etre of Thich Nhat Hanh, the two other main Seon groups of Europe, even though it doesn’t seem to be the result of a systematic policy like in the case of the Sanbo Kyodan, also attract a number of Christians. For instance, many French Christians listen attentively to the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh whose great openness toward other religions is well known. Among the many books that he has written, one is entitled Going Home-Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. Similarly, it is not difficult to find many Christians among the members of the AZI. In 2004, during an encounter with Yuno Roland Rech,94) one of the high responsible of this group, he told me : “So much the better if the practice of Seon may be of some help to the Christians.” Of course, the great interest taken by some Christians in Seon does not necessarily mean that they intend to give up their religious identity.

Master Seungsahn of the Kwan?m Seonjong has said : “I myself am the way, I am truth, and I am life.”95) Even though he interpreted this powerful Christian statement in a Buddhist sense, the mere fact that he used it should be enough to let us guess that he too kept Christians in mind.

The above facts show us that, whether we like it or not, Buddhism and Christianity are actually coexisting in the Western world.

3) Concrete Attempts of Integration

It is important to realize that quite often the Japanese Roshis themselves have suggested the creation of kongans adapted to Christians. A good example is Tae?i Roshi(大義 老師), from the Japanese Rinzai school and the master of Chongdal Nosa 宗達 老師(1905-1990),96) the Korean who has created the Han’guk Seondohoe(韓國 禪道會) in 1965.97) But let us now take a look at the way such a task should be accomplished. In order to do that, I will examine the work done by some Jesuits that have worked in Japan during the last fifty years. Indeed, the specific contribution of each one of them is an indispensable link for the creation of a Christian Ganhwaseon .

The German Heinrich Dumoulin(1905-1995) is an academic who was thaught at Sophia University in Tokyo and gained an international reputation. Unfortunately, his famous work Seon Buddhism : a History, does not talk about Korean Seon.98)

Enomiya Lassalle(1898-1990) is another German but who became a Japanese citizen. Moreover, rather than studying Seon, he dedicated his whole life to its practice, going as far as going through all the kongans of the Sanbo Kyodan several times. In one of his works, he systematically compares the practice of the spiritual exercices created by Saint Ignatius of Loyola with that of Ganhwaseon.99) His numerous books have made him known worldwide and very much contributed to the propagation of Seon in the West.100)

The Irish William Johnston, also an academic teaching at Sophia University, has both practiced and studied Seon. He has compared Christian and Buddhist meditation methods, and especially the thought expanded by mystics like Master Eckhart with the negative way of the Seon school.101) His books keep selling very well worldwide.

The Japanese J. K. Kadowaki also is an academic teaching at Sophia University and who both studies and practices Seon. In his book Seon and the Bible he systematically compares kongans with the content of the Old and New Testaments.102) But, most interestingly, he got the inspiration to write that book in the 1950s, from a professor called I. Ratzinger,103) who later became a Cardinal before becoming lately Pope Benedict II. This shows us that the man who now holds the highest responsibility in the Catholic church had already realized, some fifty years ago, the considerable importance of the encounter of Seon Buddhism with Christianity.

Conclusion

Instead of being centered on the Sanbo Kyodan, this research could have chosen a more global approach to the study of Ganhwaseon practice in Europe. Or, on the contrary, it could have focused on the Korean share of the European market. Nevertheless, I have chosen to set back the practice of Ganhwaseon in the global context of the encounter of Buddhism with Western culture, and especially with Christianity. Each of the other approaches would have had a value of its own. But the one that I have chosen has the advantage of avoiding to deal with an extremely broad question in a vague an abstract way. Instead, without losing the broadness of the topic, it has remained very concretely focused. Refusing to recognize the value of such an approach would be tantamount to trying to understand the Buddhist conquest of China without knowing anything about Chinese religions. Of course, the present research study should be completed by a number of others based on issues like feminism, philosophy, psychology, social justice, sociology, etc.

As we have seen in this paper, hermitic life, that has tremendously influenced the Western world, constitutes an excellent ground for the encounter of Ganhwaseon. Moreover, the present crisis of Western Christianity favors its acceptance of a tradition that may contribute to its renewal. We have also examined the reasons of the success of the Sanbo Kyodan, as well as the role played, during the last fifty years, by Jesuits working in Japan for the development of a Christian Ganhwaseon.

The firs reason of the success of the Sanbo Kyodan is the fact that its teaching has spread to the West through people that often had an outstanding first hand knowledge of Japanese language and culture. Secondly, it has a well defined Dharma lineage, proposes a step by step course of seven hundred kongans, each having a specific answer, and all its masters write commentaries on the kongans. Its also is well organized at an international level, sticks to a clear code of ethics, and is opened to a dialogue with other cultures and religions. But we have also learnt from Victor So?gen Hori that the practice of capping(ch’akeo 著語) should form an indispensable part of Ganhwaseon training.

The study of the work done during the last fifty years by some Jesuits working in Japan allows us to say that the following elements are required for the creation of a Christian Ganhwaseon : a deep, broad and accurate knowledge of Buddhism, a thorough experience of the practice of Ganhwaseon, as well as a good understanding of the Bible, of Christian mystics, and of philosophy.

In Europe, Korean Ganhwaseon is far from being as well known as Japanese Zen. At present, nothing allows us to predict that things are susceptible of changing, let it be on the short or on the long run. So much the better if the conclusions of this paper may somehow contribute to change that situation.

Let us now enumerate some of the distinctive traits of Korean Ganhwaseon.

First, the fact that it remains unknown may play in its favor since people are often attracted by what is entirely new, especially in America.

Secondly, from the view point of the history of Buddhism, Jinul(知訥)’s tono jeomsu(頓悟漸修) doctrine is very innovative.104)

Thirdly, though the sudden-sudden(tono tonsu 頓悟頓修) conception of enlightenment advocated by Master Seongcheol(性徹) has provoked a huge controversy it has also enriched Korean Buddhism and made it even more attractive.105)

Fourthly, the fact that Korean Buddhists and Christians each represent approximately 25% of the population of Korea constitutes a unique situation, providing exceptionally good conditions for the development of a Christian Ganhwaseon that could be exported.

Fifthly, the existence in Korea of associations of lay people(在家修行者) like the Han’guk Seondohoe (韓國禪道會) can serve as a model for the creation of similar groups abroad.

The encounter of Ganhwaseon with Western culture is a process that will most probably take several centuries rather than just a few decades. It is an extremely complex phenomena, the understanding of which will require the collaboration of many people during a great number of generations. Right now, among the Westerners that practice Ganhwaseon, some do it as Buddhists and others as Christians. But the two types are necessary and it would be desirable that they work together in harmony instead of clashing. That is because the coexistence of the two groups is indispensable to guarantee both the preservation of Ganhwaseon’s specific identity and its full integration to the Occident. While the Western Christians will work at the integration of Ganhwaseon to their faith, the Western Buddhists will keep helping them to acquire a correct understanding of Buddhism. And conversely, the former will recall the latter that the Occident is not a religious tabula rasa. Needless to say that it would be of the outmost importance for the adepts of Ganhwaseon, let them be Buddhist or Christians or of any other religion, that they maintain strong ties with the Far East tradition they can trace their roots back to.

Sometimes ago, I heard a French Buddhist scholar say to some people attracted by Buddhism : “Please do not come if you are not very seriously motivated.” These words came from the fear, shared by many, that Buddhism may be in danger of becoming an easy fashion. I want to say the same thing to the Westerners attracted by the practice of Ganhwaseon. But to all those that feel strongly committed to that practice, despite its difficulties, I want to communicate my certitude that, on the long run, the encounter of Far East Buddhism with Western Christianity will most probably bear fruits profitable to all humankind.

Notes

Throughout this paper, for the sake of clarity and unity, but for a few exceptions, I will keep using the terms Seon, Ganhwaseon, kongan(公安) and hwadu(話頭), even when dealing with non Korean contexts.

“Studying the Spread and Histories of Buddhism in the West,” id. p. 66-81.

“The full nature and extent of this impact on Western ideas, values, and ways of life can hardly be anticipated this early in the story of Buddhism’s unprecedented globalization”. Westward Dharma, p. 48.

Paris, Cerf.

For instance, some Westerners will not hesitate to attempt an integration of the teachings of the Japanese Rinzai school(臨濟宗) with those of the Vietnamese Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

At present, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Turkey are in the process of becoming members, and, recently, Macedonia has applied to become one.

“In contrast to the geographic expanses of Canada, the United States, South Africa, in Europe as a religion Buddhism faces an unusually wide variety of social, cultural, and legal contexts. The differences at times have a lasting impact on the (1) spread, (2) institutionalization, (3) form of organization, (4) doctrinal standardization, and (5) representational issues of Buddhism in a country.” Westward Dharma, p. 96.

The Kwanum Seon school(觀音禪宗) founded by Master Seungsahn(1927-2004) runs over thirty meditation centers in some fifteen European countries(http://www.pariszencenter.com/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=13). One of Seungsahn’s disciples, Master Ubong (우봉 禪師), alias Paul Jacob, runs the Paris downtown center(http://www.pariszencenter.com/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=14). He has also created some ten centers in Western and Eastern Europe(Han’kyeorae Sinmun[한겨레 신문] 2004.10.21). A complete list of all the European centers can be found at http://kwanumzen.org/centers/.

Some of those smaller groups are mentioned briefly by Philippe Cornu in the Dictionnaire encyclopedique du bouddhisme, Paris, Seuil, 2001, p. 409.

정성본, 『禪의 思想과 歷史』, Seoul, Pulgyo Sidaesa(서울, 불교시대사), 2000.

Yuanwu Keqin.

Yangqipai.

Dahui Zonggao.

“Chan is the most Confucian form of Buddhism, and it has been in constant rivalry with neo-Confucianism.” Robert E. Buswell, Jr, Encyclopedia of Buddhism, New York, Thomson Gale, 2004, p. 136.

Robert E. Buswell, Jr., “The ‘Short-cut’ Approach of K’an-hua meditation: The Evolution of a Practical Subitism in Chinese Ch’an Buddhism, ” in Sudden and Gradual, Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1987, pp. 321-377.

T.2007, vol.48, p.337a27-b7. Translation from The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the text of the Tun-Huang manuscript, translated, with notes, by Philip B. Yampolsky, New York, Columbia University Press, 1967, p. 127-128.

Albert Low, Tokyo, the Charles E. Tuttle Company, An Invitation to Practice Zen, 1989; The World : A Gateway-Commentaries on the Mumonkan, 1995.

It is in the same sense that Christians say whenever they recite the Our Father “give us today our daily bread.”

Genesis 12, 1-3.

China 眞我.

Jeongt’o 淨土.

H. Laux, Le Dieu excentre, Paris, Beauschesne, 2001.

Kil eobn?n kil 길 없는 길.

John 3, 8.

The difference is that while Buddhists follow the path discovered and thaught by the Buddha ??kyamuni, the Christians rely upon the words of Jesus-Christ.

Luke, 11, 52.

In 70 CE, the Roman general Flavius Vespasianus Titus destroyed that temple as he conquered Jerusalem. In today’s Israel, the far right is planning its reconstruction.

As the Catholic and Orthodox churches became split, Catholicism lost most of its mysticism, and as it became split with the Protestant churches, it prevented its followers from reading the Bible.

“… the differences are a less important element, when confronted with the unity which is radical, fundamental and decisive.” Sebastian Painadath, Pope John Paul II, On Inter-Religious Dialogue, Kottayam, Jeevadhara, 2005, p. 356.

“The adaptation of Seon to the West, therefore, is not simply a Western invention. In the post-Meiji and postwar periods, many Japanese adherents of Seon advocated the modernization and revitalization of the tradition. Some saw the West, especially America, as an arena where such revitalization could flower.” Westward Dharma, pp. 219-220.

A History of Buddhist Philosophy, Continuities and Discontinuities, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1992.

“The new phase brought about by the blend of Mahayana Buddhism with the beliefs and practices of a primitive agricultural society is commonly called Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism. By the seventh century, it had become fully systematized in northeastern and northwestern India.” K. S. Ch’en, Buddhism, The Light of Asia, Canada and U. K, Barron’s Educational Series, 1967.

I have heard him say so during a symposium organized by the Buddhis-Christian Conference and that took place at University de Paul of Chicago during the summer of 1996. Toni Packer gives a totally contrary example. She is one of the disciples of the American Seon Master Philip Kapleau and “represents the most striking example of a Western Seon that has virtually ceased to be Seon … Toni Packer and her center are not typical of Seon in the West. While nearly all Western Seon centers and teachers have adapted their forms in significant ways to meet the character of their Western practitioners, few have gone as far as Packer in abandoning elements of traditional Seon. … In this sense, Packer is `post-Seon’..” Westward Dharma, p. 227-228. See “Can clear seeing be attained without koan practice?'” (http://www.kwanumzen.com/primarypoint/v05n2-1988-spring-tonipacker-clearseeing.html).

“In connection with the “poverty” I remember that once a British gentleman came to study Seon under Master Daigi(大義), who used to be my fellow student in our training days. For a koan Master Daigi gave him the famous Christian saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I do not know what the orthodox traditional interpretation of this passage may be in Christianity. It would be interesting to see how Master Daigi took it up from the Seon standpoint and used it as a Seon koan.” Zenkei Shibayama, Zen Comments on the Mumonkan, New York, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974, p. 84.

“By demonstrating that Hwa?m thought can be used for the philosophical under pinnings of the Seon approach, this work(W?ndon Seongbullon 圓頓成佛論) can, without exaggeration, be considered Jinul’s most important contribution to East Asian Buddhist philosophy.” The Collected Works of Jinul, translated by Robert E. Buswell Jr., Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press, p. 198.

1. There are various kinds of desire in us, to name a few, desire for sex, desire for money, desire for fame, desire for power, most importantly, desire for self-preservation. It appears that all these desires are compounded. For example, when we want to fulfill sexual desire, we feel that in order to get our sex partner(s) we should have money, fame, power, seduction, or all of these. It is also true that when we fail in fulfilling our desires for these objects, we often feel frustrated or get angry.

Let’s call it a complex of desire and violence. Each human being is almost always being driven by this complex. This complex belongs to the domain of ka – ma(ka – ma – vacara), if expressed in a Buddhist term.

2. The builders of our nations well understood that basic desires or instincts should be sufficiently fulfilled. Therefore, they do not decree the prohibition of ka – mic activities, for example, sexual activities. But they do think that people should not harm the life and property of other nationals. The basic aim of the constitution of each nation is, thus, to establish the system which enables most of those nationals to fulfill their basic instincts.

3. According to Aggan˜ n˜ a Sutta: On the Knowledge of Beginnings in D¦¯ gha Nika – ya, sometimes an ordinary human being takes life, takes what is not given, commits sexual misconduct, tells lies, indulges in slander, harsh speech, or idle chatter, is grasping, malicious, or of wrong views.1) All these may be called ten evils. We must understand that all sexual conduct is misconduct, as far as a celibate is concerned. About two millenium has passed since this sutta began to be handed down to us. But there seemed no progress made in that modern human beings are morally not different from those peoples of the ancient India.

4. In his short writing “Why War?”[Warum Krieg?, 1932], Sigmund Freud(1826-1939) argues that there are two kinds of human instincts: one is erotic instincts which seek to preserve and unite, and those which seek to destroy and kill. The first group is called erotic or sexual; the second is called aggressive or destructive instinct.2) Both of them are essential to the phenomena of life, which arise from the concurrent or mutually opposing action of both.3) In most cases, these two instincts are intermingled. For

1) See Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the Buddha, D¦¯ gha Nika – ya, trans. M. Walshe (Wisdom Publications London, 1987), p. 408 ff.2) Sigmund Freud The Standard Edition of The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud(London: The Hogarth Press And The Institute of Psycho-Analysis), vol. 22, p. 209 ff.

example,“ the instinct of self-preservation is of an erotic kind, but it must nevertheless have aggressiveness as its disposal if it is to fulfill its purpose. So, too, the instinct of love, when it is directed toward object, stands in need of some contribution from the instinct for mastery if it is in any way to obtain possession of that object.”4) Freud continues:“ It is very rarely that an action is the work of a single instinctual impulse (which must in itself be compounded of Eros and destructiveness.)”5) According to the last passage, a single instinctual impulse, whether it appears erotic or destructive, is not single but compounded of eros and destructiveness.

Based on his understanding of instincts, Freud points out “a lust for aggression and destructions”6) as one of several motives of war, and he adds:“ there is no use in trying to get rid of men’s aggressive instincts.”7) He only suggests an indirect method of employing eros to counter against the aggressive instincts.8) Freud sadly but understandably ended with a rather pessimistic note about the future of mankind.

5. Those ten evils can be roughly put into two camps of sexual and destructive instincts, although we have to admit that there is no absolute distinction between them. Taking life, harsh speech and being malicious appear to belong to the destructive instincts, but committing sexual

6. The reason why this author discusses Aggan˜ n˜ a Sutta and Freud together, is to argue that sexual desire and aggressiveness are almost inseparably compounded, and that we are not able to know the full implication of the Celibacy/Enlightenment theme unless we widen our scope to include the issue of violence and its national, racial, and religious origin.

7. M. K. Gandhi(1869-1948) was the one who had a strong conviction that sexual desire, violence, and even palate, are inseparably related to each other, as he demanded unwavering pledge from ashram(community) residents. An example is the pledges of Satyagraha Ashram, founded in 1915 with the objective:“ Its members should qualify themselves for, and make a constant endeavor towards, the service of the country, not inconsistent with the universal welfare.”9) The ideal human character, namely, self-realization, is achieved only through service to the country and the world. To qualify oneself to do such service, one had to pledge to practice the following virtues: truth, nonviolence or love, celibacy(brahmacharya), control of the palate, nonstealing, nonpossession or poverty, physical labor, self-reliance(swadeshi), fearlessness, abolition of

untouchability and tolerance.10) Gandhi believed that only through the observance of the pledges could human beings with the physical body commit only the minimum degree of violence and become active beings capable of constructing a nonviolent society.

Gandhi was convinced that practicing nonviolence and celibacy is indispensable to realizing truth as he maintained:“ That a man who has known truth can be lecherous is as inconceivable as that darkness may exist despite the sun shining.”11) Gandhi also believed that achieving celibacy is directly related to control of the palate as he explained as follows:

The observance of brahmacharya has been found, from experience, to be extremely difficult so long as one has not acquired mastery over taste. Control of the palate has, therefore, been placed as a principle by itself. Eating is necessary only for sustaining the body and keeping it a fit instrument for service, and must never be practised for self-indulgence. Food must, therefore, be taken, like medicine, under proper restraint.

In pursuance of this principle one must eschew exciting foods, such as spices and condiments. Meat, liquor, tobacco, bhang, etc., are excluded from the Ashram. This principle requires abstinence from feasts or dinners which have pleasure as their object.12)

Gandhi’s emphasis upon the relationship between celibacy and control of the palate, reminds us of a passage from the Chapter Organs(Indriyas) in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakos´ abha – s.yam. It runs in this way:“ The sexual organs are absent from the Ru – padha – tu 1) because the beings who are born in this sphere have abandoned the desire for sexual union, and 2) because these organs are ugly.”13) Furthermore, odor, taste, the consciousness of odor, and the consciousness of taste are also lacking in the world of Ru – padha – tu. Odor and taste are lacking there, for they are “morsel-food”and no one is born into Ru – padha – tu who is not detached from this food. Since odor and taste are lacking, the consciousness of odor and taste are lacking too.14)

We should be reminded that in the progressive steps towards realizing Nirvana, one has to go beyond Ka – madha – tu to Ru – padha – tu where the sexual organs dropped.

8. Who killed Gandhi?It was Nathuram Godse(1910-1949) who assassinated Gandhi, believing in military forces in the struggle against the Muslims. Godse was an activist with the Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu nationalist organization, which was originally founded in 1915 to counter the Muslim League and the secular Indian National Congress. For Godse and Hindu Mahasabha, the desire for self-preservation of Hindus against Muslims, was the most important

one. They wanted to be preserved and protected by military forces and money.

The immediate motive for the assassination is usually ascribed to Gandhi’s January 13, 1948 decision to fast to the death unless the Indian central government reversed a decision to withhold the transfer of 55 crore (550 million) rupees to the government of Pakistan. The transfer had been specified in the partition agreement, but the Indian government had refused to complete it, complaining of continued Pakistani rebel occupation of disputed parts of Kashmir. The Indian government immediately reversed its decision to withhold the funds, which infuriated Godse and his fellow Hindu radicals.15)

9. The death of Tom Fox(1951-2006)Gandhi, a non-violent person has the vision of a nation of no army, or no common police.16) Then the ultimate destiny he could face was his own death. The similar self-sacrifice was made when Tom Fox, an American Quaker peace activist, decided to go Iraq, protesting American military action against this country, showing solidarity with common Iraqi, his own death was forestalled.

In November 2005, Tom Fox, a member of Langley Hill(Va.) Meeting, and three other members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq were kidnapped by a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.

15) See Wikipedia. July 7, 2007.16) For this, see the following passage.“ No doubt I cherish a fond vision that we may be able to do without the police, for I would call them not‘ police’but‘ social reformers’. CWMG E Book, vol. 95, p. 19.

Their lives were threatened if all Iraqi detainees were not immediately released. Messages of support for these peacemakers came from around the world, including many from the Muslim community. On March 10, 2006, Tom Fox’s body was recovered in Baghdad. On March 23, his three fellow peacemakers were rescued by multinational forces without a shot being fired. On the wake of this event, Friends Journal, a Quaker Journal, published several excerpts from Tom Fox’s online journal. There is a relevant passage to our discussion of love and violence on the individual and national level. The following passage of Kenneth Boulding(1910- 1993), Quaker economist, peace activist, poet and religious mystic struck Fox:

Those who love their country in the light of their love of God, express that love of country by endeavoring to make it respected rather than feared, loved rather than hated. But those who love only their country express that love by trying to make it feared and succeed all to often in making it hated.17)

On this passage commented Fox:“ The love of country must always be subordinate to love of God. Love of country alone sets us on a course towards the disasters that have befallen other countries over the centuries. Charting a new course must begin now, before it is too late.”18)

17) Quoted from Friends Journal, May 2006, p. 7.18) Ibid.

10. Those citizens who are mostly working in a specific national k m vacara, do not, more accurately, cannot envision a nation without military forces or police. They do not save Gandhi nor Tom Fox, as long as they live in the realm of k madh tu, since the principle of self-preservation and protection necessitate them to collect the large amount of physical forces in the realms of economics, politics, foreign policy, sciences, and more importantly in their daily lives. It seems that all these physical forces ultimately culminate in military forces, which was, however, not ultimate at all for both Gandhi and Fox.

11.“ Celibacy/Enlightenment”cannot save GandhiCelibate monks, not addressing the issue of violence both of individual and national level, know at most the half truth of their own existence, since their sustenance was possible only by the reception of food and clothes from lay persons living in the national complex of k m vacara. Buddhist Scholars of both sexes, committing themselves to ka – mic

activities, including enjoying the odor and taste of the best gourmet coffee or tea, but not asking the relatedness between desire and violence, may be ignorant of their existence in a nation. We indulge ourselves with enjoying all organs including sexual organs, and have become blind not to see violence personal and national level of our life. This ignorance disables our ability to be enlightened to the patriotic mechanism of selfpreservation and protection, which killed Gandhi and Fox.

As long as most citizens live in the complex of desire and violence, and are being constantly driven by it, it may be impossible to save lives of Gandhi and Fox. If that is true, we should be satisfied with saving their

Mahatmas(Great Souls) only, perhaps to the end of human k mic history.Arguing about the personal and national complex of desire and violence is a way to challenge the self-indulging feature of (Korean) So×n Buddhism, which is suggested in the Celibacy/Enlightenment theme itself. And note that compassionate activities are principally denied in any type of self-indulgence.

In the late 14th century, an anonymous contemporary of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer composed four long poems in an obscure Midlands dialect of Medieval English. All four poems survive in a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A x, which is housed in the British Library.

Three of the poems — Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness — treat explicitly religious themes that demonstrate the poet’s familiarity with Medieval piety and suggest some knowledge of Medieval learning. The fourth poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, tells the story of one of King Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain, who sets out from the Arthurian court to seek not the Holy Grail but, rather, an almost certain death under the keen blade of a mysterious Green Knight. Gawain’s quest will lead him through the paradox of Christian salvation wherein his very failure itself prepares him properly for redemption.

The Pentangle and the Virgin

The Pearl Poet, as the author of this Gawain poem is usually called, tells a complex tale, but understanding the point entails knowing the story, so I will attempt to summarize the ongoing plot as I move from point to point.

On a New Year’s Day during the Christmas celebrations at the royal court of a still-young King Arthur, the knights and ladies have just at down to tables heavily laden with food when a large, mysterious knight suddenly gallops on horseback into the large dining hall. Even more astonishing, the large knight’s shirtless torso, the trousers stretching from his waist to his knees, the horse in its trappings proudly bearing up under him, and anenormous axe carried in his hands are all, aside from some gold trimming, entirely green. By literary convention, he is called “the Green Knight.”This bold Green Knight announces a“ game,”but a very odd game it is. He offers to allow one of assembled knights to borrow his axe and chop off his head. If the Green Knight survives, then the other knight must seek out the Green Knight one year later at a certain Green Chapel and allow his own head to be chopped off by the Green Knight.

The young knight Sir Gawain volunteers, perhaps thinking, like King Arthur in lines 372-374, that no dire consequences would follow if he aimed his blow true. Surprisingly, the Green Knight survives the beheading, picks up his head, reminds Gawain of the agreement, jumps upon his horse, and gallops away.

Gawain is an honorable man and keeps his word, setting out 10 months later, on November 2, to find the Green Knight.On the day that he sets forth, Gawain is first brilliantly arrayed, with special attention being given to two images upon his shield ? a pentangle upon the side facing away from him (as well as upon his surcoat (ll 636-637)) and the Virgin Maryupon the side facing him. The pentangle is intricately described in terms that imply Gawain’s perfection and, indeed, lead into a description of his perfection that includes his devotion to the Virgin:

Then they showed forth the shield, that shone all red,With the pentangle portrayed in purest gold.About his broad neck by the baldric he casts it,That was meet for the man, and matched him well.And why the pentangle is proper to that peerless princeI intend now to tell, though detain me it must.It is a sign by Solomon sagely devisedTo be a token of truth, by its title of old,For it is a figure formed of five points,And each line is linked and locked with the nextFor ever and ever, and hence it is calledIn all England, as I hear, the endless knot.And well may he wear it on his worthy arms,For ever faithful five-fold in five-fold fashionWas Gawain in good works, as gold unalloyed,Devoid of all villainy with virtues adornedin sight.On shield and coat in viewHe bore that emblem bright,As to his word most trueAnd in speech most courteous knight.

And first, he was faultless in his five senses,Nor found ever to fail in his five fingers,And all his fealty was fixed upon the five woundsThat Christ got on the cross, as the creed tells;And wherever this man in melee took part,His one thought was of this, past all things else,That all his force was founded on the five joysThat the high Queen of heaven had in her child.And therefore, as I find, he fittingly hadOn the inner part of his shield her image portrayed,That when his look on it lighted, he never lost heart.The fifth of the five fivesfollowed by this knightWere beneficence boundless and brotherly loveAnd pure mind and manners, that none might impeach,And compassion most precious ? these peerless fiveWere forged and made fast in him, foremost of men.Now all these five fives were confined in this knight,And each linked in other, that end there was none,And fixed to five points, whose force never failed,Nor assembled all on a side, nor asunder either,Nor anywhere at an end, but whole and entireHowever the pattern proceeded or played out its course.And so on his shining shield shaped was the knotRoyally in red gold against red gules,That is the peerless pentangle, prized of oldin lore.

Now armed is Gawain gay,And bears his lance before,And soberly said good day,He thought forevermore. (ll 619-669 Pearl Poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Marie Borroff (1967), Part 2, in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1, Seventh Edition)

From this extended description of Gawain’s values and piety, we probably form a high opinion of his character. Certainly, his fellow lords and ladies do, for immediately after he has ridden off to his doom, they sigh and observe,“ Ill fortune it is / That you, man, must be marred, that most are worthy! / His equal on this earth can hardly be found”(ll 674- 676). Indeed, Gawain sounds almost flawless.

Note that Gawain’s piety takes a particular form: an already-noted devotion to the Virgin Mary. Indeed, he is so devoted to her that he carries her image on the inner surface of his shield so that he might gain courage from glancing at the image during battle, as we have just seen:

And wherever this man in melee took part,His one thought was of this, past all things else,That all his force was founded on the five joysThat the high Queen of heaven had in her child.And therefore, as I find, he fittingly hadOn the inner part of his shield her image portrayed,That when his look on it lighted, he never lost heart. (ll 644-650)

In effect, Gawain is a knight dedicated to the“ high Queen of heaven.” This emphasis upon the Virgin’s royal status strongly suggests that we are to understand that she is the lady whom Gawain as knight serves in much the same chivalrous manner that other knights would serve their unattainable ladies.

The Problem of Courtly Love

In the Medieval context, however, this chivalrous courtly love would ordinarily entail some problematic elements.In the ideal case, a knight devoted himself to service not only to his liege lord but also to his lord’s wife, whomhe was bound to protect, honor, and love. But what sort of love? Although perhaps modeled on the paradigm of the Christian’s devotion to the Virgin Mary, in which case the ideal courtly love would be a highly sublimated sort of love similar to Christian caritas (Reiss,“ Fin’ amors”), the reality is that courtly love was an unstable complex of sexual desire and spiritual aims. Francis Newman noted that courtly love was“ a love at once illicit and morally elevating, passionate and self-disciplined, humiliating and exalting, human and transcendent”(Newman, vii).

Similarly, C.S. Lewis described it as “love of a highly specialized sort, whose characteristics may be enumerated as Humility, Courtesy, Adultery, and the Religion of Love”(Lewis, 2). From a rigorously Christian perspective, courtly love is inherently adulterous, for its practice entails that mature men express their love for an already married lady in language that powerfully emphasizes her physical beauty and sensual charms. From the explicit teaching of Christ as given in Matthew 5:27-28:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (King James Bible, Matthew 5:27-28)

The operative word here in this King James Bible, obviously, is“ lust,” but we should dig a bit deeper into the past and look at the earlier, Wycliffe English translation, for John Wycliffe was a contemporary of the Pearl Poet:

Ye han herd that it was seid to elde men, Thou schalt do no letcherie.

But Y seie to you, that euery man that seeth a womman for to coueite hir, hath now do letcherie bi hir in his herte. (Wycliffe Bible, Matheu 5:27-28:) But we should also check the Latin Vulgate, which the Pearl Poet would surely have known:

The Middle English and Latin words are thus coueite (covet) and concupiscendum (ardent desire), respectively, and they are even related etymologically. The former derives from the Latin word cupere, meaning “to desire, covet,”and in the 14th century, the time of both Wycliffe and the Pearl Poet, the word coueite meant“ To desire with concupiscence or with fleshly appetite”(OED I, 1106, 2), hence demonstrating why Wycliffe (or one of the Wycliffe ‘team’) rendered the Latin Vulgate’s concupiscendum by the Middle English coueite. As for the latter term, concupiscendum, it derives from the Latin concupere (the intensive prefix con- plus cupere, thus “to long for, desire”). The related Latin term concupiscentia was taken over into English as “concupiscence”as early as the 14th century, appearing in Chaucer, The Parson’s Tale (c. 1386), with the meaning of“ libidinous desire, sexual appetite, lust”(OED I, 777, 2). Given the Pearl Poet’s theological interests and scriptural knowledge, he would surely be aware of Christ’s teaching on adultery as a matter of lusting in one’s heart.

Clearly, this sexual aspect does not characterize the courtly love that Gawain has for the VirginMary, the high Queen of Heaven. Indeed, immediately after the description of his devotion to Mary, which he partly expresses by bearing her image on the inside of his shield, we read of Gawain’s excellent character as signified by the fifth point of the pentangle:

The fifth of the five fives followed by this knightWere beneficence boundless and brotherly loveAnd pure mind and manners, that none might impeach,And compassion most precious — these peerless fiveWere forged and made fast in him, foremost of men. (ll 651-655)

What Marie Borroff has rendered as“ pure mind”comes from the Middle English word clannes (line 653), which can have a variety of meanings. Mayhew and Skeat define it in their Concise Dictionary as “purity” (Mayhew and Skeat,“ Clennes”). Scholars have debated whether or not the term conveys a strong implication of sexual purity. Gerald Morgan notes that while“ clannes does not necessarily imply celibacy ⋯ it does imply celibacy or rather virginity outside marriage.”Morgan also insists that “there can be no doubt that the meaning which the poet intends is ‘chastity’⋯ [for the] use of the word clannes in this specific manner is ⋯ well attested in the late fourteenth century”(Morgan, 777). Morgan is referring to the Pearl Poet’s specific use of clannes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but the poet realizes that the word has a broader range of meanings. In his poem titled Cleanness, the use of the word clannes depends upon that rather broad range of meanings. Worthy to note even here, however, is that the Pearl Poet places emphasis upon a particular sort of impurity,“ lechery”(harlottrye), as the one sin that the Savior hates most of all:

But at night or at noon there is nothing He hatesMore than lechery, lustful and loathsome and gross!Of such deeds evildoers shall die without hope.(Finch, Cleanness, lines 578-580)

As already noted, the Middle English term here is harlottyre, which in the 14th century (1377: William Langland, Piers Plowman B, 13.353 c. 1386: Geoffrey Chaucer, Merchant’s Tale 1018) included the meaning“ profligacy or vice in sexual relations, unchastity”(OED I,“ harlotry,”95, 3). Similarly, the Pearl Poet specifies, among the sins that bar one from experiencing heavenly bliss, the sin of“ marring good marriages,”which surely refers to adultery (Finch, Cleanness, line 186). In his cleanness, which especially includes celibacy (due to his unmarried state), Gawain avoidssexual impurity and focuses his pure devotion upon the Virgin Queen of Heaven.

Lord Bertilak’s Castle and the Testing of Gawain

Let us return to our tale. Gawain has left King Arthur’s court on November 2, the day following All Saints’Day. After about seven weeks of wandering in fruitless search of the Green Knight and his Green Chapel, Gawain finds himself frustrated on the morning of Christmas Eve (or perhaps the day before) at his lack of success and prays to the Virgin Mary that he might find a dwelling (ll 733-739). Later that morning (or perhaps the next day), he prays again, this time to both the Lord Christ and to the Virgin Mary, for the chance to find a haven where he can attend mass and pray his matins (ll 753-762):

He crosses himself, and criesOn Christ in his great need. (ll 753-762)

Immediately, Gawain glimpses a great castle, which he enters, and finds himself courteously treated there by all, especially by the lord and lady of the place, the Lord and Lady Bertilak, who request that he remain several days, to which he agrees after learning privately, from conversing confidentially with Lord Bertilak, that the Green Chapel of his quest lies within two miles of the castle (ll 1168-1078). The gallant Lord Bertilak, a manly and vigorous hunter, thenproposes a game for diversion during Gawain’s stay:

“And Gawain,”said the good host,“ agree now to this:Whatever I win in the woods, I will give you at eve,And all you have earned you must offer to me;Swear now, sweet friend, to swap as I say,Whether hands, in the end, be empty or better.”“By God,”said Sir Gawain,“ I grant it forthwith!If you find the game good, I shall gladly take part.”(ll 1105-1111)

There follow three daysof hunting in which Lord Bertilak leaves his castle early to return late,coincident with three days of temptation in which Lady Bertilak enters Gawain’s guest room to entice him toward a sexual liaison:

A little din at his door, and the latch lifted,And he holds up his heavy head out of the clothes;A corner of the curtain he caught back a littleAnd waited there warily, to see what befell.Lo! it was the lady, loveliest to behold,That drew the door behind her deftly and stillAnd was bound for his bed ? abashed was the knight,And laid his head low again in likeness of sleep;And she stepped stealthily, and stole to his bed,Cast aside the curtain and came within,And set herself softly on the bedside there,And lingered at her leisure, to look on his waking. (ll 1183-1194)

After feigning a bit more sleep, Gawain pretends as if to be just awakening and offers to dress and leave his bed, but Lady Bertilak refuses and insists upon keeping him“ captive,”informing him:

And lo! we are alone here, and left to ourselves:My lord and his liegemen are long departed,The household asleep, my handmaids too,The door drawn, and held by a well-driven bolt,And since I have in this house him whom all love,I shall while the time away with mirthful speechat will.

My body is here at hand,Your each wish to fulfill;Your servant to commandI am, and shall be still.”(ll 1230-1240)

Lady Bertilak’s offer of her body has a double meaning in Middle English. She could be offering herself as a hospitable host, or she could be offering her body for sexual pleasure.Subsequent remarks by the lady on this and two following occasions make clear that the sexual meaning is intended. However, she manages on this first attempt to receive and give only a ‘chaste’kiss of courtly love in Christ’s name (cf. ll 1305-1307).

Interestingly, when Lord Bertilak returns at evening and presents Gawain with the day’s bounty, manifold venison, Gawain presents Lord Bertilak with a kiss as his own day’s bounty (ll 1388-1389). The lord inquires where Gawain had won such a prize, but Gawain objects that this was not part of their agreement. Lord Bertilak concedes the point, and on the following two days, he presents Gawain with a large boar and a small fox, respectively. Gawain, in turn, bestows upon Lord Bertilak first two, then three kisses (ll 1639-1640; ll 1936), which Gawain himself has received from Lady Bertilak on the second and third occasions of her visits to his bedroom (cf. ll 1505, 1555; ll 1758, 1796, 1868-1869). The three occasions of kissing are described by the narrator in terms that allow us to understand them as courteously given, implying that they are chaste (cf. ll 1300, 1486), but one might have doubts, given the seductive context.Moreover, Gawain seems rather powerfully attracted to the lovely lady, as we learn during dinner of the second day as Gawain sits beside her and is swayed by her charms:

So uncommonly kind and complaisant was she,With sweet stolen glances, that stirred his stout heart,That he was at wits’end, and wondrous vexed; (ll 1658-1660)

Gawain is surely close to committing that adultery of the heart that Christ warned against. By Lady Betilak’s third visit to his room, Gawain’s heart seems thoroughly captivated with her physical charms:

He accords her fair welcome in courtliest style;He sees her so glorious, so gaily attired,So faultless her features, so fair and so bright,His heart swelled swiftly with surging joys.

They melt into mirth with many a fond smile,Nor was fair language lacking, to further that hour’sdelight.

Good were their words of greeting;Each joyed in other’s sight;Great peril attends that meetingShould Mary forget her knight. (ll 1759-1769)

The danger for Gawain is clear and present, but he seems to understand this danger in the purely physical sense of betraying Lord Bertilak by committing the act of adultery with that lord’s wife, and he resolves not to commit that sinful act (cf. ll 1770-1776).From a rigorously Christian perspective, however, Gawain is flirting with an adultery of the heart, and his resolution not to commit the physical act itself may imply that he is already guilty in his heart. Moreover, he accepts from Lady Bertilak on the third day something that goes beyond kissing, and this involves him in an even more dangerous connection to the lady.

An Excursus Through Don Quixote

First, however, allow me to take a clarifyingexcursus through another great literary work. In Part 1, Chapter 13 of Don Quixote, Cervantes has the great Knight of the Woeful Countenance describe to a fellow traveler the ennobling sufferings of a knight errant, comparing them to the rigors of a monk’s life and suggesting that it is a divine calling because: [C]hurchmen in peace and quiet pray to Heaven for the welfare of the world, but we soldiers and knights carry into effect what they pray for, defending it with the might of our arms and the edge of our swords, not under shelter but in the open air, a target for the intolerable rays of the sun in summer and the piercing frosts of winter. Thus are we God’s ministers on earth and the arms by which his justice is done therein. (Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 1, Chapter 13)

The traveler listens carefully to the great Don’s words and courteously agrees, but with a significant caveat:

“That is my own opinion,”replied the traveller;“ but one thing among many others seems to me very wrong in knights-errant, and that is that when they find themselves about toengage in some mighty and perilous adventure in which there is manifest danger of losing their lives, they never at the moment of engaging in it think of commending themselves to God, as is the duty of every good Christian in like peril; instead of which they commend themselves to their ladies with as much devotion as if these were their gods, a thing which seems to me to savour somewhat of heathenism.”

(Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 1, Chapter 13)

In effect, the traveller is politely calling into question the very thing that he had courteously agreed to. Knights errant may believe that they are carrying out God’s work in this world, but in fact, they fall into something like the pagan practice of worshipping goddesses.

Don Quixote responds by appeal to the custom among knights errant:“Sir,”answered Don Quixote,“ that cannot be on any account omitted, and the knight-errant would be disgraced who acted otherwise: for it is usual and customary in knight-errantry that the knight-errant, who on engaging in any great feat of arms has his lady before him, should turn his eyes towards her softly and lovingly, as though with them entreating her to favour and protect him in the hazardous venture he is about to undertake, and even though no one hear him, he is bound to say certain words between his teeth, commending himself to her with all his heart, and of this we have innumerable instances in the histories. Nor is it to be supposed from this that they are to omit commending themselves to God, for there will be time and opportunity for doing so while they are engaged in their task.”(Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 1, Chapter 13)

The great Don has not, of course, truly responded to the traveler’s criticism of the knight errant’s heathen devotion to his lady, for by reemphasizing the knight errant’s practice of“ entreating her to favour and protect him in the hazardous venture he is about to undertake, and ⋯ commending himself to her with all his heart,”Quixote merely restates what the traveler finds troubling.

So, naturally, the traveler politely maintains his difference of opinion: “For all that,”answered the traveller, “I feel some doubt still, because often I have read how words will arise between two knights-errant, and from one thing to another it comes about that their anger kindles and they wheel their horses round and take a good stretch of field, and then without any more ado at the top of their speed they come to the charge, and in mid-career they are wont to commend themselves to their ladies; and what commonly comes of the encounter is that one falls over the haunches of his horse pierced through and through by his antagonist’s lance, and as for the other, it is only by holding on to the mane of his horse that he can help falling to the ground; but I know not how the dead man had time to commend himself to God in the course of such rapid work as this; it would have been better if those words which he spent in commending himself to his lady in the midst of his career had been devoted to his duty and obligation as a Christian.”(Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 1, Chapter 13) Cervantes, perhaps writing these words around 1600, was not the first to note the problem posed to the Christian knight by the practice of courtly love. In the latter 14th century, the Pearl Poet implicitly sets up the problem in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by first presenting Gawain as a good Christian knight:

And all his fealty was fixed upon the five woundsThat Christ got on the cross, as the creed tells;And wherever this man in melee took part,His one thought was of this, past all things else,That all his force was founded on the five joysThat the high Queen of heaven had in her child.

And therefore, as I find, he fittingly hadOn the inner part of his shield her image portrayed,That when his look on it lighted, he never lost heart. (ll 642-650)

Gawain, a good Christian knight, maintains devotion to the Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, which therefore makes him Mary’s knight (cf. line 1769) and thus protected against falling into what the traveler in Don Quixote calls the heathen practice of courtly devotion to a mortal woman.

The Compromising Gift

Yet Gawain’s courtesy and concern for his own life — as well as something called“ covetise,”but more on that later — move him to accept from the beautiful Lady Bertilak the gift of a purportedly magical green belt interlaced with threads of gold that will supposedly protect him from an otherwise certain death:

She released a knot lightly, and loosened a beltThat was caught about her kirtle, the bright cloak beneath,Of a gay green silk, with gold overwrought,And the borders all bound with embroidery fine,And this she presses upon him, and pleads with a smile,Unworthy though it were, that it would not be scorned.

But the man still maintains that he means to acceptNeither gold nor any gift, till by God’s graceThe fate that lay before him was fully achieved.

“And be not offended, fair lady, I beg,And give over your offer, for ever I mustdecline.

I am grateful for favor shownPast all deserts of mine,And ever shall be your ownTrue servant, rain or shine.”“Now does my present displease you,”she promptly inquired,“Because it seems in your sight so simple a thing?And belike, as it is little, it is less to praise,But if the virtue that invests it were verily known,It would be held, I hope, in higher esteem.

For the man that possesses this piece of silk,If he bore it on his body, belted about,There is no hand under heaven that could hew him down,For he could not be killed by any craft on earth.”Then the man began to muse, and mainly he thoughtIt was a pearl for his plight, the peril to comeWhen he gains the Green Chapel to get his reward:Could he escape unscathed, the scheme were noble!The he bore with her words and withstood them no more.

And she repeated her petition and pleaded anew,And he granted it, and gladly she gave him the belt,And besought him for her sake to conceal it well,Lest the noble lord should know — and the knight agreesThat not a soul save themselves shall see it thenceforthwith sight.

He thanked her with fervent heart,As often as ever he might;Three times, before they part,She has kissed the stalwart knight. (ll 1830-1869)

Up until this moment, Gawain has courteously refused to accept any gift from the lady, for in the act of accepting a parting gift from a lady, a knight setting off on a quest is implicitly accepting the lady herself as his lady. By accepting the magical belt, Gawain has exchanged the higher Queen of Heaven for the lower Lady Bertilak and thus relinquished the Virgin’s protection from harm in return for Lady Bertilak’s protection.

In this manner does Gawain lose his status as Mary’s knight and adopt the practice of other knights errant, who “commend themselves to their ladies with as much devotion as if these were their gods, a thing which seems ⋯ to savour somewhat of heathenism,”and by accepting Lady Bertilak, he does, as do other knights with their ladies, “turn his eyes towards her softly and lovingly, as though … entreating her to favour and protect him in the hazardous venture he is about to undertake,”as both the traveller and Don Quixote, respectively, have already noted.

By means of this excursus through Cervantes, we can now draw together two sorts of infidelity (cf. ll 2383, 2509: vntrawpe) that Gawain falls into through his acceptance of Lady Bertilak’s gift, namely, religious infidelity and marital infidelity. First, as just demonstrated, by accepting the ‘magical’belt, Gawain objectively accepts Lady Bertilak as the object of his devotion, thereby displacing his devotion to the Virgin Mary and no longer relying upon the Virgin as his protectress. Second, by accepting Lady Bertilak’s gift, Gawain makes himself her knight rather than Mary’s knight and thus places himself in a relation ofcourtly lover to Lady Bertilak, a problematic connection since this sort of love can scarcely be distinguished from an adultery of the heart. The narrator emphasizes this latter point by two terms used in referring to this gift. After Lady Bertilak has given her‘ magical’belt as a gift and left the bedroom, Gawain:

Tucked away the token the temptress had left,Laid it reliably where he looked for it after. (ll 1874-1875)

The Middle English word translated as “token”is actually luf-lace, literally,“ love-belt.”The belt is thus a love-token, a sign of Gawain’s ‘love’for the lady. The other term referring to Lady Bertilak’s gift occurs in the passage in which Gawain puts the belt on just prior to leaving for his encounter with the Green Knight:

Yet he left not his love-gift, the lady’s girdle;Gawain, for his own good, forgot not that:When the bright sword was belted and bound on his haunches,Then twice with that token he twined him about. (ll 2030-2033)

The Middle English word translated as“ token”is actually drurye, which means “love-token”(or even “love-making”!). If we recall now that Gawain had also responded to Lady Bertilak’s amorous glances at him during supper on the second day (cf. ll 1658-1660) and to her seductive appearance during the temptation on the third day (cf. ll 1759-1769), then Gawain has likely fallen into an adultery of the heart so common to courtly love, and we will see still more on this point in the next section.

Judgement Upon Gawain

Gawain’s acceptance of the belt has set up a further problem. Recall that Gawain has confirmed an agreement with Lord Bertilak to exchange their winnings each day, and as already noted, Gawain does give to Bertilak the three kisses received from Lady Bertilak when she last parted from him. He does not, however, hand over the belt. Of course, he cannot do so without losing the magical protection that it supposedly offers, but by keeping it for himself rather than giving it to Lord Bertilak, Gawain breaks an agreement and thereby proves himself less than perfectly honest, as the Green Knight informs him when they meet at the Green Chapel on New Year’s Day to finish their beheading game. The Green Knight has just made two feints to test Gawain before finally bearing down hard, yet only just nicking Gawain’s neck, but nevertheless fulfilling the game started one year before in Arthur’s court. As the Green Knight tells Gawain:

“I owed you a hit and you have it; be happy therewith!The rest of my rights here I freely resign.Had I been a bit busier, a buffet, perhaps,I could have dealt more directly, and done you some harm.First I flourished with a feint, in frolicsome mood,And left your hide unhurt — and here I did wellBy the fair terms we fixed on the first night;And fully and faithfully you followed accord:Gave over all your gains as a good man should.A second feint, sir, I assigned for the morningYou kissed my comely wife — each kiss you restored.For both of these there behooved two feigned blowsby right.True men pay what they owe;No danger then in sight.You failed at the third throw,So take my tap, sir knight.

“For that is my belt about you, that same braided girdle,My wife it was that wore it; I know well the tale,And the count of your kisses and your conduct too,And the wooing of my wife ? it was all my scheme!She made trial of a man most faultless by farOf all that ever walked over the wide earth;As pearls to white peas, more precious and prized,So is Gawain, in good faith, to other gay knights.Yet you lacked, sir, a little loyalty there,But the cause was not cunning, nor courtship either,But that you loved your own life; the less, then, to blame.”(ll 2341-2368)

Interestingly, the Green Knight ?who we now learn is also Lord Bertilak — does not ascribe to Gawain any adulterous motive. He is, however, judging from appearances. We know differently, for we have been privy to Gawain’s heart, courtesy of the narrator, who informed us in lines 1658 through 1660, as noted above:

So uncommonly kind and complaisant was she,With sweet stolen glances, that stirred his stout heart,That he was at wits’end, and wondrous vexed; (ll 1658-1660)

Nor should we forget lines 1760 through 1762:

He sees her so glorious, so gaily attired,So faultless her features, so fair and so bright,His heart swelled swiftly with surging joys. (ll 1760-1762)

Moreover, Gawain himselfproceeds to suggest that Lady Bertilak’s seductive charms have succeeded with him, for in a somewhat misogynist monologue, he compares himself to other men seduced by women:

But if a dullard should dote, deem it no wonder,And through the wiles of a woman be wooed into sorrow,For so was Adam by one, when the world began,And Solomon by many more, and Samson the mighty ?Delilah was his doom, and David thereafterWas beguiled by Bathsheba, and bore much distress;Now these were vexed by their devices ? ’twere a very joyCould one but learn to love, and believe them not.For these were proud princes, most prosperous of old,Past all lovers lucky, that languished under heaven,bemused.

And one and all fell preyTo women that they had used;If I be led astray,Methinks I may be excused. (ll 2414-2428)

Traditionally, all these men had been seduced by the sensual, physical charms of the women. Gawain is thus claiming the same thing in his case, tantamount to a confession of having committed an adultery of the heart. Moreover, Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s offer of the belt as a gift:

But your girdle, God love you! I gladly shall takeAnd be pleased to possess, not for the pure gold,Nor the bright belt itself, nor the beauteous pendants,Nor for wealth, nor worldly state, nor workmanship fine,But a sign of excess it shall seem oftentimesWhen I ride in renown, and remember with shameThe faults and the frailty of the flesh perverse,How its tenderness entices the foul taint of sin;And so when praise and high prowess have pleased my heart,A look at this love-lace will lower my pride. (ll 2429-2438)

Note that Gawain emphasizes the weakness of his “flesh perverse” (flesche crabbed), which can have a sexual connotation, and he does refer again to the belt as a “love-lace”(luf-lace). Also, one should note the perhaps not too remote possibility of still other sexual innuendo in the Middle English original of lines 2437-2438:

The word “pride”(pryde) has the connotation of “sexual desire”in Middle English, albeit only recorded in writing about 100 years after the Pearl Poet (OED 2, “pride,”1351, 11). The word “prick”(pryk) is a notorious wordplay in Middle English, as noted by Stephen Knight in his discussion of the Pearl Poet’s contemporary, Geoffrey Chaucer, who uses the word“ priketh”in line 13 of the“ General Prologue”to his Canterbury Tales, playing on its vulgar meaning, for “the sexual pun on ‘prick’ operates in Middle as well as Modern English”(Knight, 12). If“ prowess of arms”could also be taken as sexual innuendo (cf.“ prowes”line 1249(- 1251) and line 1305 (cf. line 1541), “cachez hym in armez”), then the significance of the luf-lace for Gawain’s probable adultery of the heart is further enhanced.

Gawain’s confession to King Arthur in the presence of his fellowknights after returning to that royal court seems to distinguish two sins:

“Behold, sir,”said he, and handles the belt,“This is the blazon of the blemish that I bear on my neck;This is the sign of sore loss that I have suffered thereFor the cowardice and coveting that I came to there;This is the badge of false faith that I was found in there,And I must bear it on my body till I breathe my last.For one may keep a deed dark, but undo it no whit,For where a fault is made fast, it is fixed evermore.”(ll 2505-2512)

Gawain accuses himself of “cowardice”(couardise) and “coveting” (couetyse). Both contribute to his“ false faith”(vntrawpe,“ unfaithfulness” (marital) or“ unbelief”(religious), OED II, 382“ untruth”(i.e.,“ infidelity”)), a self-reproach by which Gawain confesses his unworthiness to wear the pentangle, that“ endless knot”(endeles knot) that stands for trawpe — the Middle English of“ troth”— which combined the meanings“ truth”and “loyalty.”Gawain’s sin has loosened that endless knot, and the baldric crossing over the shoulder where the shield with pentangle had been hung (line 621) has been replaced with the belt as a substitute baldriccutting across the pentangle upon his surcoat and tied with a knot at his left side (line 2486). In Gawain’s confession, the fault that he has committed will stain him as long as he lives, but what precisely does Gawain confess to? His couardiseis clear enough: fear for his life partly led him to accept the belt offered by Lady Bertilak. But what was the object of his couetyse? This recalls the earlier discussion of Matthew 5:27-28:

Ye han herd that it was seid to elde men, Thou schalt do no letcherie.

But Y seie to you, that euery man that seeth a womman for to coueite hir, hath now do letcherie bi hir in his herte. (Wycliffe Bible, Matheu 5:27-28)

In that earlier discussion, we learned that in the 14th century, the time of both Wycliffe and the Pearl Poet, the word “covet”(coueite) meant “to desire with concupiscence or with fleshly appetite”(OED I, 1106, 2). The term here, however, is the noun “covetise”(couetyse), so what did it mean? According to the Oxford English Dictionary,“ covetise”had a sexual connotation in the 14th century (OED I,“ covetise,”1106, 1). In Daniel 13:7 of the 1382 Wycliffe Bible, we read these wordsconcerning the men who saw the beautiful Susanne bathing:

Thei brennyden in the couetise of hir. (OED I,“ covetise,”1106, 1)

They burned with covetise for her. (My Translation)

And Chaucer uses the noun “covetise”to warn against lechery in his Parson’s Tale, written about 1386 (OED I,“ covetise,”1106, 1). Speaking of the sin of lechery worked by the devil’s hand, Chaucer identifies the specific work of the devil’s first finger:

This is that other hand of the devel, with five fyngres to cachethe peple to his vileynye. / The firste finger is the fool lookynge of the fool woman and of the foolman, that sleeth right as the basilicok sleeth folk by the venom of his sighte, for the coveitise of eyen folweth the coveitise of the herte.(Fisher, page 385, Lines851-852)

This is the other hand of the devil, with five fingers to draw people to his villainy. / The first finger is the foolish glancing of the foolish woman and of the foolish man, which slays [people] exactly as the basilicok slays people by the venom of its glance, for the covetise of the eyes follows the covetise of the heart. (My Translation)

Chaucer’s parson thus identifies “covetise”with lechery and emphasizes that “the covetise of the eyes follows the covetise of the heart,”which fits rather nicely with the view that Gawain has fallen into an adultery of the heart, given his confession of “coveting”(couetyse).

Gawain takes rather hard his self-knowledge as one guilty of breaking faith for the low motives of cowardice and lechery. Indeed, he tell us in line 2512 that“ where a fault is made fast, it is fixed evermore,”as though he believes that his sin has brought him into a fallen stateas low as original sin brought Adam. While Gawain’s self-reproach might seem excessive, it represents an important stage in his development as a Christian knight, for he has previously been held in thrall to pride, as the Green Knight tells us in revealing that Morgan le Faye sent him:

She guided me in this guise to your glorious hall,To assay, if such it were, the surfeit of prideThat is rumored of the retinue of the Round Table. (ll 2456-2458)

The Middle English word translated by Borroff as the phrase“ surfeit of pride”is surquidre (cf. sourquydrye, line 311) which the OED traces to as early as 1225 and renders as “arrogance, haughty pride, presumption” (OED II,“ surquidry,”243). Gawain does, in fact, recognize his fault of pride, for in the punning passage of lines 2437-2438, Gawain has already agreed to keep the belt, saying that it will remind him of his pride and humble his heart. Although the Green Knight assures Gawain that his confession of all his failings has left him as pure as if he had never sinned (lines 2391-2394), Gawain remains troubled over his fall and considers himself stained for life, as we have already seen. Indeed, Gawain needed to fail for this story to be a Christian one, for such is the Christian view of human nature, that it is fallen and must therefore fail due to its innate sin.Moreover, through being brought to an awareness of his sins, be they pride or infidelity, Gawain is humbled and thereby better prepared to accept God’s grace.

An Aside on Buddhism

Sir Gawain’s encounter with Lady Bertilak and his subsequent entrapment in an adultery of the heart thus works as a type of felix culpa —a fortunate fall — that leads him to deeper knowledge of himself and thereby to the possibility of salvation. There exists something perhaps like a felix culpa within a major Buddhist text. In the“ Gandavyuha Sutra,”the last chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra, one of East Asian Buddhism’s most important Mahayana texts, we can read the story of the young Buddhist Sudhana as he seeks enlightenment on a pilgrimage that leads him through a sequence of 52 different masters. The twenty-fifth of these is the courtesan bodhisattva Vasumitra, from whose seductive powers, Sudhana must learn a lesson. In Thomas Cleary’s translation of this encounter in The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra, we read:

People there [in Ratnavyuha, the city of Vasumitra,] who did not know of Vasumitra’s virtues or the scope of her knowledge, said to Sudhana,“ What has someone like you — with senses so calm and subdued, so aware, so clear, without confusion or distraction, your gaze focused discreetly right before you, your mind not overwhelmed by sensations, not clinging to appearances, your eyes averted from involvement in all forms, your mind so cool and steady, your way of life profound, wise, oceanic, your mind free from agitation or despondency — what have you to do with Vasumitra? You should not have any lust for her, your head should not be turned by her, you should not have any such impure thoughts, you should not be ravaged by such desires, you should not be under the power of a woman, you should not be so bewitched, you should not enter the realm of temptation, you should not sink into the mire of sensuality, you should not be bound by the snares of the devil, you should not do what should not be done.”(Cleary 1270-1271)

Others, however, urging Sudhana to seek out Vasumitra, provide directions to a house that in its greatness resembles a castle. There, he sees her:

There he saw Vasumitra, who was beautiful, with golden skin and black hair, her limbs and body well-proportioned, more beautiful in form than all celestial and human beings in the realm of desire, her voice finer even than that of the god Brahma. (Cleary, 1271)

Vasumitra tells Sudhana:

“[A]ll who come to me with minds full of passion, I teach them so that they become free of passion.”(Cleary, 1272)

She then adds:

“Some attain dispassion just by embracing me, and achieve an enlightening concentration called ‘womb receiving all sentient beings without rejection.’Some attain dispassion just by kissing me, and attain an enlightening concentration called‘ contact with the treasury of virtue of all beings.’”(Cleary, 1272)

From a commentary on Sudhana’s encounter with Vasumitra, we learn:

This woman was settled in a polluted, fearsome realm, making it hard for people to believe in her; so the land was called Danger. By means of meditation, she entered into defiled realms and turned them all into spheres of knowledge; by virtue of great compassion, she remained in the ordinary world, and by virtue of knowledge she remained unaffected, so her city was called City of Jewel Arrays. (Cleary, 1599)

Her compassion and decision to remain in the ordinary world and lead others to enlightenment is, of course, characteristic of the bodhisattvasof Mahayana Buddhism. The commentary tells us how she leads others to enlightenment:

Vasumitra went on to speak of holding her hand, getting up on her couch, gazing at her, embracing her, and kissing her. Holding her hand means seeking salvation. Getting up on her couch means ascendancy of formless knowledge. Gazing at her means seeing truth, embracing her means not departing from it. Kissing her means receiving instruction.(Cleary, 1600)

The commentary then explains:

This illustrates how all who come near enter a door of total knowledge, unlike those who only seek to get out of bondage and do not arrive at the ultimate dispassion — supreme knowledge of the real universe that remains in the polluted world without being defiled, freely helping the living, neither bound nor freed. (Cleary, 1600)

The commentary does not clearly state whether or not Sudhanaactually has sex with Vasumitra, but many have interpreted the sutra as meaning this. At any rate, the sutra teaches that one can achieve dispassion by an encounter with passion and thereby attain fuller enlightenment. As a sufficiently general level ? and allowing for differences in the two religions ?this might be what is happening to Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Conclusion

As noted at the outset of this paper, Gawain’s quest has led him through the paradox of Christian salvation wherein his very failure itself has prepared him properly for redemption.Although a pious Christian devoted to the Virgin Mary, Gawain is too proud in his virtues despite his courteous air of humility. As with the others at the court of Arthur, Gawain suffers a surfeit of pride, and his faith must be tested through the various games set up by the Green Knight. Specifically, he is tested in his courage, his troth, and his celibacy.Readers see clearly that he fails in his faith by placing his trust in the green belt rather than the Virgin Mary. This reliance upon the‘ magical’belt calls his courage into doubt as well. Retaining the belt rather than handing it over to Lord Bertilak shows that he fails in his troth. The Green Knight observes that Gawain fails in his courage and his troth, so this is also quite clear to readers. Readers might miss the way in which Gawain falls into a lecherous adultery of the heart, for he seems to have displayed remarkable restraint in resisting the advances of an extraordinarily beautiful, charming, and seductive lady, and the Green Knight himself states that Gawain has not failed due to “wooing” (wowyng, line 2367 (cf. 2361)). However, from Gawain’s self-condemnation, one sees that he focuses upon two failings, his cowardice and his sexual coveting (couetyse, line 2374) of Lord Bertilak’s wife.Gawain may have satisfied the Green Knight on this point, but the falseness of his own heart condemns him, for he has failed to remain chaste within ? he has failed to stay celibate and true to the Virgin Mary. His fall, however, can become a felix culpa, a happy fault, if the blow dealt his pride leads him to true repentance. Concerning this final stage of redemption, the text remains silent. Perhaps, then, Gawain has yet a few more quests to undertake in his path toward self-knowledge.

Bibliography

Andrew, Malcolm and Ronald Waldron, editors. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight(Middle English). In The Complete Works of the Pearl Poet.

Yuki-Sirimane.pdf
Enlightenment through Celibacy or Celibacy through Enlightenment?Yuki Sirimane(University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka)

I. Introduction

Twenty One out of the Two Hundred and Twenty Seven disciplinary rules for a bhikkhu concern sexual behavior. The four Parajika rules laid down for the bhikkhus have been increased to eight parajika rules in the disciplinary rules applicable to the bhikkhunis. Three out of these additional four rules applicable to the bhikkhunis pertain to sex life and can be considered as secondary rules deriving from the first parajika rule.

Hence half the number of the parajika rules laid down for bhikkhunis deal with sex in one way or another.1) Similarly amongst the many additional

disciplinary rules introduced for Bhikkhunis in the category of Sanghadisesa and Pacittiya rules too, a substantial number deal with sexual behavior and impairment to the life of brahmacariya.

There is a tendency to interpret the essence of the brahmacari life as celibacy. However Mohan Wijeratne in Buddhist Nuns writes No where in the Buddhist doctrine or its discipline do we find any praise of perpetual virginity, or any notion such (as) physical saintliness or ecclesiastical celibacy. Moreover the Buddha does not attach any importance whatsoever to sacred ritual nor does it search for any ritual purity through abstaining from sexual relations’2)

In the light of the heavy stress on celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for monks and nuns in Theravada Buddhism and the general understanding of the philosophy as expressed by Mohan Wijeratne above, it is necessary to investigate in to the role of celibacy on the Path of Enlightenment.

Hence this paper investigates in to the role of celibacy on the Path of Enlightenment; ‘Is it celibacy through Enlightenment or Enlightenment through Celibacy?’with special focus on the recorded practice of Buddhist female disciples. In doing so we will first examine the place of celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for bhikkhunis in the Theravada Tradition. Secondly the Buddhist text refer to female disciples of the Buddha who have attained mental development or attained fruits of the Path as very young girls , entered marriage thereafter , produced children and continued to lead a perfectly normal married life. Hence we will examine the role of celibacy in the lives of the lay female disciples who

2) Mohan Wijeratne, Buddhist Nuns, Colombo, Wisdom, 2001, p. 116.

are reported to have attained significant mental development as recorded in the Theravada Texts.

In the recent field research done by the writer addressing certain controversies surrounding ‘Enlightenment’in the Theravada Tradition i.e. interviews with contemporary meditators of the Theravada tradition, both monks, nuns and layman and lay women who are believed to be with specific religiousexperiences, it has been found that whilst some have attained the fruit of Stream-entry (first stage of Enlightenment) whilst leading a ‘spotlessly clean’celibate life, some laymen observed the prescribed sila, i.e. indulging in permitted sexual activity, whilst some others claim that before their experience which lead them to the‘ entry in to the Path’, as a layman they lived a life breaking all possible norms including the third precept which is an undertaking to abstain from sexual misconduct. Therefore thirdly this paper will investigate the results of field research done with contemporary meditators in the Theravada tradition.

II. The place for celibacy in the Disciplinary Code for bhikkhunis

The process of the evolution of the Universe and man kind accordingto Buddhism is set out in Agganna Sutta (A Book of Genesis). The first referenceitself to sexual intercourse between man and woman as set out in this sutta portraits it as an act of immorality and vulgarity. Accordingly in the process of evolution, with the physical appearance of‘ sex distinction’ in the beings who up to such time had no such distinction, the newly evolved male and female, being overcome by lust, indulged in sexual intercourse with each other which lead to the on- lookers in the rest of the community throwing sand, ash and cow – dung at them saying‘ perish you foul (impure) one, how can a being treat a being so?3) Nibbana the ultimate goal of Buddhism being the complete destruction without remainder, of lust, aversion and ignorance (raga dosa moha) , the emphasis on restraining or abstaining from sensual pleasures including sexual relations in the practice towards this goal is understandable. More over the Buddha says Monks I know of no other single form by which a man’s heart is so enslaved as it is by that of a woman. Monks a woman’s form obsesses a man’s heart . I know of no other single sound by which a man’s heart is so enslaved as it is by the voice of a woman. Monks a woman’s voice obsesses a man’s heart ⋯ scent ⋯ savour ⋯ touch ⋯. The explained that the same holds true for the heart of a woman.4) Hence the Disciplinary Code for monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to the Practice commences with a heavy emphasis on celibacy.

meaning he or she has not being able to resist temptation and has been being defeated by defilements (kelesa).5) Once defeated, such a person is unworthy of belonging to the Community. All offences other than Parajika are remediable by subjecting himself or herself to the stipulated punishment and/or the procedures and thereafter conducting according to the Code of Discipline.

Sanghadisesas are the most serious remediable offences. A Sanghadisesa offence by a bhikkhuni reduces her to a probationary period called‘ manatta’of 15 days . The bhikhuni’s period of manatta was equal to the‘ parivasa period’, the probationary period a bhikkhu is subject to for this category of offences. During the probationary period the offender’s status in the community is reduced by depriving him or her of certain rights and privileges he is entitled to and alsoby making it known to the rest of the community thereby making it a deterrent for wrong doing. Nissaggiya Pacittiya do not involve any punishment, the object improperly acquired is given up. The Pacittiya rules are less severe involving only a confession.

The four Parajika rules laid down for the bhikkhus have been increased to eight Parajika rules in the disciplinary rules applicable to the bikkhunis.Three out of these additional four rules applicable to the Bhikkhunis pertain to sex life and can be considered as secondary rules deriving from the first parajika rule. Hence half the number of the parajika rules laid down for Bhikkhunis deal with sex in one way or another.6) Out

of these, Parajika rule No. 1 which is held in common with the bhikkhus and rules 5 and 8 of the additional four rules applicable to the bhikkhunis are direct references to sexual acts.

Parajika rule 1- Whatever bhikkhuni should deliberately indulge in sexual intercourse, even with an animal, she becomes one who is defeated. She cannot live any more with the other bhikkhunis.7) The equivalent of the above rule for the bhikkhus is as follows;‘ If a monk who has accepted the discipline , without rejecting it, without pronouncing his ability to continue (monastic life), has sexual intercourse, even with a female animal, he commits an offence entailing defeat⋯⋯.’ In the bhikkhuni’s rule the words ‘without rejecting it, without pronouncing his ability to continue (monastic life)’has not being included. Accordingly a monk had to make known his intention to abandon the discipline before the assembly of the Community or before a group of monks or before an individual monk who has obtained Higher Ordination or at least before a layman who can understand what he says.

However a bhikkhuni could leave the order without such declaration.8) As applicable to the bhikkhus the above rule extends to restraining from sexual activities with not only animals, but also with non-humans such as demons and celestial beings, with dead bodies, hermaphrodites (ubhatobyanjanako) , eunuchs (pandakas) , with a person asleep etc.

7) Mohan Wijeratne , Buddhist Nuns, p. 182.
8) – do – Note 6, 116.

Whilst the Parajika rule 1 deals with active participation in sexual activity, the following Parajika rules preclude a bhikkhuni from even being a passive sex partner.

Parajika rule 5- Whatever bhikkhuni filled with desire, should consent to rubbing, or rubbing up against, or taking hold of or touching or pressing against a male person who is filled with desire, below the collor bone and above the circle of the knees, she becomes one who is defeated⋯⋯.

Parijika rule 8- Whatever bhikkhuni, filled with desire, for the sake of following this unsuitable thing , should consent to a male person who is filled with desire, taking her hand, or should consent to his taking hold of even by the edge of her outer cloak (sanghati), or should stand or should talk or should go to rendezvous, or should consent to a man coming towards her , or should enter a covered place or should dispose her body for such a purpose, she becomes one who is defeated⋯⋯.

In both above rules though it appears as a passive role physically, the words‘ filled with desire’and‘ consent to’(sadiyeyya) indicates the role of the mind.

Psychologically‘ to consent’does not mean simply‘ to give in’or‘ to let things go’or‘ to give way to’. It means‘ to agree with’,‘ to approve’, and particularly in the case of Parajuka 5, to accept and actively indulge in the pleasures that are felt, that have been felt, and that are going to be felt.9) It is for the same reason that the victim of rape in the event the victim being an Arahant or emission of semen in a dream do not fall within the definition of this offence. The Arahant theri, Uppalavanna who was raped by a young man in the woods was declared by the Buddha not guilty of Parajika 1 as, an Arahant is one who has eradicated lust and therefore can not be guilty of consenting to the act .

The following Sanghadisesa rules10) applicable to bhikkhinis are noteworthy.

Sanghadisesa 3 – No bhikkhuni shall, alone leave the village , cross the river and go beyond, shall stay a night out, or be out of the company of the group. Whoever does so shall be guilty of an Sanghadisesaoffence.

Sanghadisesa 5 – No bhikkhuni shall with lustful intentions receive and partake of any food from a lustful man with similar intentions.

Sanghadisesa 6 – No bhikkhuni shall tell another ‘whatever will this man do to you. whether he is lustful or otherwise, as long as you entertain no such thoughts. Therefore you accept and partake of whatever he offers you’

The above rules seem to be with the objective of not only to curtail the opportunities to entertain lustful thoughts and conduct but also to safeguard the bhikkhunis from being victims of rape, molestation and

other physical dangers and also to safeguard the community of bhikkhinis as an Institution from disrepute and unwarranted accusations from the public, supporters of the community and other interested parties. Some of these have been considered so grave that it warrants the guilty bhikkhuni to be reduced to a probationary period.

The following Pacittiya rules11) are also for the same objective.

Pacittiya rule 11 – No bhikkhuni shall in the darkness of the night, at a place there is no lamp, stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him. Whoever does so will be guilty of a Pacittiya offence.

Pacittiya rule 12 – No bhikkhuni shall stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him in a secluded place.

Pacittiya rule 13 – No bhikkhuni shall stay alone in the company of a man or converse with him in an open place.

Pacittiya rule 14 – No bhikkhuni shall, in the street, in a blind alley or at the cross roads, stay alone in the company of a man, converse with him, whisper in his ear, or send away the bhikkhuni who is her only companion.

It is noteworthy that the above conduct is considered an offence what ever the state of mind of the bhikkhuni may be, whether she acts with or

11) – do – 150.

without lust. The following rules serve the same purpose.12)

Pacittiya rule 51 – Whatever bhikkhuni who knowingly enter a monastic residence where a bhikkhu lives, without asking for permission, she is guilty of a fault of Pacittiya category.

Pacittiya rule 102 – Whatever bhikkhuni should lie down in the lodging where a male person lives ⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 103 – Whatever bhikkhuni who teaches Dhamma to a man in more than five or six sentences , unless a knowledgeable woman is present ⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 125 – Whatever bhikkhuni should sit down and wait in private in a secluded seat with a man ⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 126- Whatever bhikkhuni should sit down and wait together with a man ⋯⋯.

In the bhikkhuni Vinaya there seem to be several rules to safeguard against sexual practicessuch as masturbation, homosexuality etc. The restrictions in the Vinaya againstsharing the same bed, couch, sharing the same blanket, from rubbing each others bodies, applying oils etc on another could be multi purpose including to safeguard against possible

12) – do – 197, 201, 203.

sexual activity. Some of these are as follows ; Pacittiya rule 3 – In slapping with the palms of the hands (on the private parts of the body), a bhikkhuni is guilty of a Pacittiya offence Pacittiya rule 4 – In penetrating some thing e.g. some thing made out of wax (in the private part of the body) a bhikkhuni is guilty of an offence There is a reference in the Pali text to a bhikkhuni inserting a ‘jatumutthaka’inside her genitals. The term jattumuthaka is translated in to English as a‘ decking with lac’(Pali English Dictionary – PTS London), a device used by women in society at that time to prevent conception. It is something made of wood, flour or clay. Subsequent to this incident the Buddha laid downa rule which not only forbids them from using jatthumuttaka but also touching their genitals even with a blade of grass.13) Pacittiya rule 5 – states that when bhikkhunis wash their genitals, their fingers should not be inserted for more than two inches inside the vaginas.14)

Pacittiya rule 31 – Whatever two bhikkhunis who should share one couch , they are guilty of a fault⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 32 – whatever two bhikkhunis should share one blanket or one bed sheet, they are guilty of an offence⋯⋯. Pacittiya rule 90 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment massaged by a nun, she is guilty of a fault of pacittiya Pacittiya rule 91 – Whatever Bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a postulant , she is guilty⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 92 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a female novice, she is guilty ⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 93 – Whatever bhikkhuni should cause herself to be rubbed with ointment or massaged by a woman householder, she is guilty ⋯⋯.

The Vinaya rules also safeguards against the bhikkhunis conducting themselves in such a manner that would arouse lustful feelings in men i.e.

wearing ornaments, scents, bathing naked in public places etc.

Pacittiya rule 96 – Whatever bhikhuni who should enter the village without her vest , she is guilty ⋯⋯.

Pacittiya rule 86 – What ever bhikkhuni should wear a sanghani, she is guilty of ⋯⋯(a sanghani is a decorated cloth or an ornamental chain to wear around the hip).15)

Sexual intercourse has been commonly referred to in the text as not true dhamma, it is a village dhamma, low-caste dhamma, wickedness, the final ablution, secrecy, having obtained in couples. The extent of the sexual taboo on the Path to Enlightenment of a monk or a nun who has renounced the household life can be determined by the Buddha’s advice to Sudinna at the time of promulgation of the first parajika rule as follows; It were better for you, foolish man that your male organ should enter the mouth of a terrible and a poisonous snake , than it should enter a woman. It were better for you, foolish man , that your male organ should enter the mouth of a black snake⋯⋯. charcoal pit ⋯⋯ burning ablaze, a fire than enter a woman.16)

Based on these statements there is a tendency to interpret the essence of the brahmacari life as celibacy. However in Methuna Sutta of Anguttara Nikaya, replying to brahmin Janussoni the Buddha declared a bhikkhu or Brahmin who declares himself to be a person of perfect brahmacariya, may not enjoy sexual intercourse with a woman, but this is not enough to warrant such a declaration.17) It is further said that if he allows a woman to rub his body with oil or perfume, to give him a bath and shampoo him and enjoys or longs for it, if he laughs sports or enjoys with a woman, if he looks in to, watches with expectation, the eyes of a woman who does the same in return, if he listens through a wall or a fence to the noise of a woman who is laughing, reciting, singing, or weeping , if he remembers that he has formally laughed, talked , and sported together with a woman, if he sees a householder or a householder’s son, in possession of five sorts of pleasure and being attended by a woman or if he practices brahmacariya desiring to join a class of celestial beings, such brahmacariya cannot be called unbroken, uninterrupted, unvaried, unadulterated, perfect and pure brahmacariya.18)

The above clearly shows that abstinence from sexual activity is not the essence of the practice towards Enlightenment even in the case of a monk or a nun . Mohan Wijeratne in Buddhist Nuns writes;

No where in the Buddhist doctrine or its discipline do we find any praise of perpetual virginity, or any notion such (as) physical saintliness or ecclesiastical celibacy. Moreover the Buddha does not attach any importance whatsoever to sacred ritual nor does it search for any ritual purity through abstaining from sexual relations. Attaching a sense of spiritual value to the human body was foreign to Buddhism. ⋯⋯ we should also note that with regard to abstinence, Buddhist nuns never had a notion such as‘ giving one’s life completely to a divine spouse”, nor were they tied to a spiritual marriage.19)

A married woman is permitted to enter the order of nuns at the age of twelve years provided there is permission from her husband or the parents to do so (Pacittiya rule 65 and 80). However in the case of a unmarried woman she is not permitted to enter the Order until 20 yrs (Pacittiya rule 71). These rules seem to be giving sufficient time for a unmarried woman to make a decision about entering in to wedlock and in the case of married women this also serves to protect the Institution of marriage.

Hence it can be concluded that despite the heavy emphasis on celibacythere is no sacrosanct value attached to celibacy within the Buddhist philosophy except that these rules have been enacted both for molding a mind conducive for treading the Path and for safeguarding and supporting the Community of monks and nuns.

19) Mohan Wijeratne, Buddhist Nuns, 116.

III. The role of celibacy in the practice of lay female Buddhist disciples who have attained fruits of the Path

Once a lay disciple, Migasala questioned Ven. Ananda as to how to understand the dhamma thought by the Tathagata, as it seems that both, one who lives brahmacari life (celibate life) and one who doesn’t, after death takes a similar birth.

She said ‘my father, sir, Purana, lived the godly life (brahmacari life), dwelling apart, abstaining from common carnal things ; and when he died the Exalted One explained : He is a once-returner, dwelling in Tusita. My uncle, sir Isidatta, did not live the godly life but rejoiced with a wife; and of him also, when dead, the Exalted One said : He is a once-returner, dwelling in Tusita. Reverend Ananda how ought one to understand this Dhamma?’

This incident was reported to the Buddha by Ven. Ananda seeking an explanation.

In this sutta , the Buddha comes out very strongly against the attempt of Migasala to pass judgment about the attainments of others.20)

The Buddhist Path to Nibbana, its ultimate goal is marked by four land marks , the four fruits of the Path. They are (a) Fruit of Stream- entry (Sotapatti-Phala) (b) Once Returner (Sakadagami-phala) (c) Non Returner (Anagami-Phala) and (d) Arahatta-Phala (Nibbana). These are progressive stages of development of the mind. This sutta highlights that celibacy by

20) Anguttara Nikaya Vol.III, PTS Edition, 246.

itself is not a factor for the attainment of mental development expected on this Path nor a pre-condition for enlightenment at least up to the third fruit of the Path, as both, the one who‘ rejoiced with a wife’and the one who practiced celibacy have progressed up to the same fruit. At this point it is important to note that at the third fruit of the Path, a Non-returner (Anagami) eradicates all sensual pleasures, naturally reverting to a celibate life whether he or she has renounced lay life or not.

In the light of the above sutta it is important to examine the recorded lives of disciples of the Buddha to determine the role of celibacy on their Path to Enlightenment. Most of the recorded cases of the disciples who attained fruits of the Path are of monks and nuns who are expected to lead celibate lives. Celibacy is a pre-condition for them .Therefore the extent of the impact of celibacy on their practice or its success can not be assessed externally. Hence the extent of the role of celibacy for the purposes of Enlightenment can be examined only by dwelling into the recorded lives of lay disciples who had the freedom to lead a non-celibate life. Following are some accounts of such disciples-

I) It is said of Visakha (the chief female lay disciple of the Buddha) who attained sotappatti phala at the age of seven years; Visakha got married at the age of fifteen or sixteen years ⋯⋯ In the course of time she gave birth to ten sons and ten daughters and all of them had the same number of descendants down to the fourth generation. Visakha herself lived up to the remarkable age of 120⋯⋯. She was strong as a elephant and worked untiringly throughout the day looking after her large family. She found time to feed the monks every day, to visit monasteries, and to ensure that non of the monks lacked food, clothing, shelter, bedding and medicine.

Above all she still found time to listen to the dhamma again and again⋯⋯ she wore her valuable bridal jewellery even when she went to listen to the dhamma⋯⋯. She was declared by the Buddha as the foremost among women lay supporters who serve as supporters of the Order.21)

Accordingly having attained the first fruit of the Path as a seven year old she entered marriage and continued to have ten children and enjoy sensual pleasures. She was obviously not leading a celibate life. With the first fruit of the Path one is assured of completing the Path to Nibbana, at the latest within seven more lives and is assured of not falling back from the Path . He or she is said to have firmly entered the ‘Stream’to Nibbana. Further from this point onwards he or she is said to continue to progress towards the final goal and only the time taken to reach the final goal differs from one another depending on each one’s commitment to the Practice. Hence Visakha having attained first fruit of the Path and whilst continuing towards her final goal and associating the Buddha so closely as his chief lay female disciple, yet celibacy had no real role in her practice.

ii) Nakulapita and Nakulamata (Father Nakula and Mother Nakula) arementioned by the Buddha amongst his foremost lay disciples, and their unfaltering faithfulness to each other has been highlighted in the Text. The Pali Canon depicts their relationship with each other as exemplary and a 21) Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmut Hecker, The Great Disciples of the Buddha, Chapter 7 (Kandy, Buddhist Publication Society, 1997, 247-255.)

conjugal love of divine stature accompanied by absolute trust based upon their common faith in the Blessed One. An old couple by the time they met the Buddha, the wife and husband declared to the Buddha that though married to each other very young they had not even once broken the faith with each other throughout the years , not even in thought leave alone in deed. They had not deviated for a moment from their mutual fidelity. In their devotion to each other, both of them expressed to Buddha their longing to be together in the future births and asked for advice from the Buddha to achieve it and they were advised by the Buddha accordingly.22)

Once when Nakulapita, the husband fell gravely ill and Nakulamata addressed him was as follows;

Do not harbor distress at the thought of my being left behind. To die like that is agonizing, so our Master has advised against it. ⋯⋯ I am skilled in spinning and so shall be able to support the children, after having lived the home life chastely with you for sixteen years I shall never consider taking another husband; I shall never cease seeing the Master and his bhikkhus, but rather visit them even more frequently than before; I am firmly established in virtue and have attained to peace of mind; and lastly I have found firm footing in the Dhamma and I am bound for final deliverance.23)

22) – do-, 375.
23) – do -, 377.

The above words of Nakulamata shows that the couple though been flawless in their conjugal love towardseach other and having had children from this marriage still have lived a celibate life for sixteen years (gahatthakan brahmacariyan samacinnam). Further the words I am firmly established in virtue and have attained to peace of mind; and lastly I have found firm footing in the Dhamma and I am bound for final deliverance is an indication that Nakulamata had attained the first fruit of the Path, Sotapatti-phala.24)

This gives us an indication that though very much in love and attached to each other to the extent of wanting to meet in the future births, the spiritual attainment of the couple had lead them to a celibate life.

iii) Khema was the beautiful chief consort of king Bimbisara who was himself a Stream-enterer. Though the King was a great benefactor of the Buddha and she had heard so much about the Buddha from the King, she never wanted to visit the Buddha as she had heard that the Buddha preaches about the vanity of beauty and sensual pleasures. However once the King managed to get her to visit the monastery where the Buddha was residing and she went with her royal splendor with silk and sandalwood and gradually got drawn in to the hall where the Buddha was preaching. The Buddha having read her mind, through his psychic powers created a beautiful women, more beautiful than her, standing behind him and fanning him while he was preaching. She was enthralled by the beauty of the woman. Gradually the Buddha created the‘ woman’to change from

24) – do -, Note 7, 392.

youth to middle age, and then to old age, with broken teeth grey hair and wrinkled skin until it finally fell to the ground lifeless. Having made her realize the vanity of beauty the Buddha preached her a stanza at the conclusion of which she was established in the first fruit of the Path. The Buddha continued to preach and at the conclusion of the sermon she attained Arahanthood dressed in her royal clothes itself. She obtained permission from the King and entered the order of nuns.25) Later she was declared by the Buddha as one of the two foremost bhikkhunis in the Bhikkhuni Sangha.

The above account shows that at the time of this incident, both the King who himself was a Stream-enterer and Khema who was his chief consort were very much enjoying sense pleasures. At the time of attaining Arahanthood she was not leading a celibate life as a part of her practice to Enlightenment. However upon full Enlightenment naturally she renounces lay life. Hence in this case celibacy had no real role in her Practice towards Enlightenment.

When we consider the above reports and many other accounts of enlightened disciples of the Buddha as recorded in the Pali text, it is difficult to conclude conclusively to what extent celibacy plays a role in Enlightenment.

25) – do -, 263-264.

IV. Findings of field research

In the recent field research done by the writer addressing certain controversies surrounding‘ Enlightenment’in the Theravada Tradition i.e.

interviews with contemporary meditators of the Theravada tradition, both monks, nuns and layman and lay women who are believed to be with specific spiritual experiences, it has been found that whilst some have attained the fruit of Stream-entry (first stage of Enlightenment) whilst leading a‘ spotlessly clean’celibate life, some laymen observed the prescribed sila (indulging in permitted sexual activity), whilst some others claim that before their experience which lead them to the‘ entry in to the Path’, as a layman they lived a life breaking all possible norms including the third precept which is an undertaking to abstain from sexual misconduct.

– A 54yrs monk who is 27yrs in robes, the chief preceptor of a well established forest hermitage in Sri Lanka related the impact of his first significant religious experience on this Path as an irreversible change in his morality. He who was ridiculing virtue (sila) and laughing at those abiding in sila realized the power of sila, became virtuous, began to worship the virtuous, preach to others about the power of sila.

⋯⋯ I first realized the power of sila. That is, the sila that I ridiculed all this time or that I considered as being restricted to a jail, became the sole purpose of my life .

⋯⋯ I who was poking fun at or ridiculing sila began to worship the virtuous and also to preach to others about the importance of sila. That is, there occurred an irreversible change in morality ⋯⋯ Later for years I examined myself, can I kill, can I steal, can I engage in sexual misconduct etc and shame, fear, disgust arise towards these⋯⋯. Before this experience I had the desire to investigate in to lust, therefore I had distorted ideas about it, that I need to experience everything about it. Similarly with hatred , to chop a creature alive knowing well that its alive and struggling, to steal from the most heavily guarded place, to taste all the possible intoxicating drugs in the world , in cheating, to cheat even my mother and father etc.

Having done all this I have been fairly successful. But there has been nothing achieved. Then when I came on to this side the opposite happened. I wanted to stay away from even thinking of lust and hatred. ⋯.

He began to feel enormously indebted to the Buddha and to Buddha Sasana, in return wanted to serve unreservedly for Dhamma, felt a need for a teacher and entered monkhood.26) This is the impact of his first fruit of the Path, Stream-entry. Here is a case where Enlightenment has lead to celibacy to say the least.

In the above recent field research out of the three married female disciples interviewed by the writer on their significant religious experiences on the Path, it was found that at the time of their first fruit of the Path, two were leading a normal lay life with their spouse and family and were abiding in the five precepts which is the minimum level of sila

26) Yuki Sirimane, Religious experience in a Buddhist perspective with specific focus on Sotapatti -phala, 2006 (Unpublished) Interview No. 4. (This research has been done for the purposes of her Doctoral Thesis).

expected of a lay disciple. However all these three disciples being in practice for over 10-20yrs, eventually, a few years down the line from this experience, have shifted to a higher mode of virtue including a celibate life whilst continuing in lay life. Except for abstinence from sexual relations, in all other aspects they continued to lead a‘ normal’and a complete lay life. The following is a brief account of the relevant field research.

Case study -1

A 66yr old married lady , a house wife, with two children had her first significant religious experience (Fruit of Stream-entry) 30yrs ago during a meditation retreat at a meditation Center. During the time of this experience she was observing the eight precepts as she was on a formal meditation retreat. However during this time she was leading a perfectly normal married life fulfilling the responsibilities of a mother and of a wife and was observing the five precepts as her regular sila. Though she continued to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother and as a wife in all other aspects, after a period of‘ four to five’years from this experience she started leading a celibate life, observing a‘ higher sila’. Although she was not observing all eight precepts (i.e. abstaining from perfumes, juwellery etc and abstaining from solid foods after the noon meal hich are included in the eight precepts) she was inclined to abstain from sexual relations. Though initially her relationship with the husband was strained due to this reason, with time it was accepted by him. As of today she continues to lead a harmonious married life whilst striving for higher fruits of the Path.

Case Study -2

A 56yr old married lady, a mother of two children, who is a teacher by profession had her first significant religious experience 19yrs ago. She had her first religious experience (which she describes as the Fruit of Streamentry) at home. During this time she was managing a home and was discharging her duties as a mother and as a wife, however was observing a ‘higher sila than the five precepts’. Today several years after this experience though she is leading a normal lay life in all other aspects, she is observing the eight precepts abstaining from not only sexual relations but from many other sensual pleasures including not having solid foods after the noon meal. At the time of this experience her relationship with her husband was already strained and with time it became worse and ended up with separation. However as of today she maintains a harmonious relationship with her husband though not ‘living together’ but living under the same roof.

Case Study -3

– A married lady in her early forties, who is a senior executive in the mercantile sector, had her first significant religious experience (Fruit of Stream-entry) 11yrs ago. She had her experience at home whilst observing the five precepts and leading a perfectly normal lay life. However around 4yrs from this experience she found herself naturally inclining towards abstaining from sexual relations with her husband and today she is leading a celibate life though not observing all eight precepts. The celibate life has not affected the harmonious relationship between her and her husband who is appreciative of the Dhamma. She continues to lead a perfectly normal lay life in all other aspects including perusing her career as she continues her quest for Nibbana.

In all above cases it is noteworthy that the practioners concerned have opted for a celibate life whilst being young enough to be sexually active. In the case of males interviewed by the writer who attained the fruits of the Path as lay disciples, few years after their first experience, both males ended up entering the Order of monks leading a completely celibate life.

Conclusion

Having examined the lives of disciples above it is difficult to conclude that celibacy is a pre-condition for Enlightenment. Nor can we determine the extent of the contribution of a celibate life towards one’s Enlightenment. However given the extreme sexual taboos enforced on the Community of monks and nuns in the form of disciplinary rules, the role of celibacy on the path to Enlightenment can not be under-estimated.

The disciplinary rules have been laid down by the Buddha for the following reasons;

a) Well-being of the Sangha
b) Convenience of the Sangha
c) Restraint of evil minded persons
d) Ease of well behaved monks
e) Restraint amongst the defilements of this life
f) Eradication of the defilements of the life after
g) Conversion of new adherents
h) Enhancement of the faith of those already converted
i) Stability and continuance of the Dhamma
j) Furtherance of the good discipline27)

Hence Disciplinary rules are not merely for Enlightenment. It is also meant to serve multiple purposes vital for the sustenance of the Community of Sangha as an Institution.

Therefore the rule of celibacy imposed on the monks and nuns too is not merely for Enlightenment. With progress on the Path, realizing the true nature of sensual pleasures and the mind and body one progresses through to a celibate life naturally. Some reach such a state of mind earlier than others . In any event at the latest, with the attainment of third fruit of the Path, Anagami-phala one switches over to complete celibacy. Ajahn Brahmavamso writes; ⋯ since sensual desire has been totally transcended, there is no spark left to ignite the passion for sex. All Arahants are ‘potently impotent’.28)